


Section Two: Snowdin

by VenomQuill



Series: Fallen Under- Underfell Novel [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, CORE, F/F, F/M, Fallen Under, Hotland, Snowdin, Souls, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, The Ruins - Freeform, Underfell Asgore Dreemurr, Underfell Chara, Underfell Flowey, Underfell Frisk, Underfell Papyrus, Underfell Sans, Underfell Toriel - Freeform, Underfell Undyne, Waterfall, kingdom - Freeform, underfell alphys, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-12 13:23:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9073777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenomQuill/pseuds/VenomQuill
Summary: With Toriel's warning fresh in their minds, Frisk and Flowey are pushed into Snowdin. It's the coldest place in the underground, with people just as bitter and icy to match. Will Frisk manage to thaw the souls of the fuzzy beings around them or will they, too, succumb to the icy dread that consumes them all?





	1. Frozen

          Snow fluttered about the tall, thick trees. The forest around them was so tightly clumped that the only way through was a deliberately made trail that started at the Ruins. Frisk closed the door behind them. It automatically locked. They took a deep breath. The air before their nose froze into a breath of fog. Frisk pulled up their hood and continued to walk. The boot that Flowey was in came to rest on Frisk’s shoulder bag so now Frisk had the use of two hands.

          Frisk’s foot hit a sturdy looking branch. They gasped and stumbled as they nearly tripped over the thing. “Leave it,” Flowey ordered. “It’s too big to move. Maybe it’ll trip someone taking after us or something.”

           “Maybe,” Frisk mumbled without putting real thought into their words and kept going. The snowy trail seemed to expand forever. A few yards away, just out of their blurry vision, the path was broken by a barred fence. Flowey perked up. “Keep going! There’s a bridge… and a large clearing behind it. The forest might thin enough for us to move around in!” Frisk nodded and sped up.

          _CCCRRRRAAACCCKKKK!_ Frisk jumped as, behind them, the branch shattered as if it was nothing.

           “Hurry!” Flowey hissed. “Don’t look back!” Frisk immediately picked up the pace. They only stopped when the bars of the gate became prevalent enough in their vision to inspect. “Oh no. It’s pretty tight…” There was a gap there, right in the middle of the trail. A bridge spanned the distance. However, the gate was quite sturdy and the logs close together. If they were careful, Frisk might be able to fit through.

          All thoughts ended when a slow, sly voice sounded behind them. “ **H u m a n .  D o n ’ t  y o u  k n o w  h o w  t o  g r e e t  a  n e w  p a l ?  T u r n  a r o u n d  a n d  s h a k e  m y  h a n d .** ”

          Frisk, at first didn’t turn around. They couldn’t. Fear froze them in place. Flowey hissed, “F-Frisk! Turn around!”

          Eventually, the young human turned around. Their eyes went round in shock. Behind them was a skeleton just about their size. A black and gold-lined coat fit around their shoulders, hardly covering up the dark red shirt they wore beneath. The hood of it was very fluffy, so fluffy gold fur puffed around his neck, shoulders, and the back of his head. Black pants with gold stripes led from his coat down his heavy midnight and gold boots. A yellow chain of some sort stuck out of his pocket. The faintest hint of a necklace glinted from his neck. The skeleton held out a hand for Frisk to take. His eyes, completely black save for two red irises, glowed with a light of their own.

          Frisk attempted to take his hand. The skeleton smiled wider. His fanged teeth glinted in the light. One sharp tooth was gold as if to replace a missing one. Frisk froze again. Flowey looked up at Frisk and then stared at the skeleton. The skeleton raised an eyebrow. A small huff escaped his chest. The young human forced themselves to take his hand. Two things happened at once. The first thing they noticed was how cold his bony fingers were. The second was how their heart and brain, both used to tiny electrical bursts, immediately became fried by the massive amount of electricity conducted into them from some device the skeleton held. They immediately fell back in to the abyss behind them. Flowey shrieked awful words, most consisting of four letters, as they fell.

 

          _You cannot give up just yet… Chara! Stay determined…_

 

          Frisk groaned and shook their head. They looked about and felt the grass under the fingers. They were again in that spot of grass with the light before them. Flowey, still in his little boot, sat before them. Frisk gasped and put a hand to their chest. Their hand still hurt, though they knew nothing was wrong with it. “Wh-wh-what just happened?!”

          Flowey stared at Frisk. “You… you just reset.”

          The young human gave him a puzzled expression. “What?”

           “You just died. We both just died,” Flowey stated. “But when you died you… you went back in time. You went to your last _save point._ Have those been here the whole time?”

           “The yellow sparkles?” Frisk inquired. “Yes. They have. But… but how did I survive? Shouldn’t I be dead?”

          Flowey shook his head. “You have something called ‘Determination’. Lots of people have it, but in small amounts. Monsters can’t have it, they’re too physically weak. That’s why they turn to dust when they die. But you and I? I have much more determination than dozens, hundreds, of humans combined. You have even more than I do! That’s what allows you to ‘save’ and ‘reset’. Whenever you die, you will come back to your last ‘save point’ as long as you are determined to live. Got it?”

           “You have it, too?” Frisk prompted.

           “Yes, I do,” Flowey answered. “But since you… have more than me, I can’t ‘save’ or ‘reset’ anymore. You can.”

          Frisk took a few deep breaths. Their nose scrunched up and tears threatened them. “That means I… died?! That- back there! In the forest! If I go out again, will I die? Can I go back? Do you think Toriel will accept me?”

           “No! Hush,” Flowey cut off their demented wheezing. “It’s going to be alright. You just need to be careful. If you’re careful and smart then you might be able to get through this alive, okay? Now. What did we learn back there?”

           “Th-that there’s a scary skeleton,” Frisk whimpered. “A-and a fissure in the ground.”

           “Yep.” Flowey nodded. “There’s a bridge that closes the gap. But it’s blocked by a gate. Now, I think you might be small enough to slip through. But we must keep a level head. Got it?”

          Frisk nodded. “I-I- I understand. But, but I was so scared! I couldn’t think! I couldn’t breathe! I-I–”

           “You went into a panic,” the flower cut them off again. “But that’s okay. You just need to take deep breaths. If things get scary, just look at me, alright? I’ll talk to you. You’ll look at a flower, right?” Flowey gave them an encouraging grin.

          Frisk nodded and took a few deep breaths. “Okay. I got it. Thank you, Flowey.” They stood up again. Flowey’s boot was again hidden under their coat and hooked on their bag. Frisk walked out into the snowy forest. They did not dawdle. Frisk stepped over the branch. A few seconds later, it shattered. Frisk took a few deep breaths. They would be fine. Flowey would make sure of it.

          They arrived at the gate. The skeleton appeared behind them. “ **H u m a n . . .** ”

          Frisk spun around. The skeleton, taken aback by their sudden movement, paused in his words. He held out his hand for them. Frisk held out their hand. Flowey hissed, “Frisk! No!” Frisk jumped and recoiled. Something flashed on the skeleton’s hand. “We see that in your hand.”

          The skeleton chuckled and waved his hand. A joy buzzer was stuck to the palm his hand. It was obviously not from a factory as it was decorated and modified. Or perhaps it was but it was tinkered with. “hehe… guess that joke’s to predictable now a days? funny how you turned around before i told you to…” The skeleton’s eyes narrowed and he shrugged. He stuffed his hand back into his jacket pocket. “whatever. so, you’re a human, right? i’m sans, sans the skeleton. i actually am on watch for humans right now. but… eh, i’m not really in the mood. my boss, though, papyrus? he’s a human hunting _fanatic._ believe me, you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him,” Sans snickered. “glad i’m not you, eh? so… you came from back there? too bad it’s locked. ’guess you’re going to have to find a way around the bridge. my boss made these bars too close together to let anyone through, though.” He shrugged. “oh well. oh. and you better hurry. he’s supposed be here soon.”

          Frisk looked at the bars and then back at him. Sans stood there. “Um… if you don’t really feel in the mood to hurt anyone…” Frisk started slowly. “Would you mind helping me across?”

          Sans shrugged. “nah. it’d take the fun out of it, right? plus, it’d be pretty funny seeing you try and get through there. well, talk to you later.” Sans turned and strolled into the tree line. Frisk ran to the spot in which he had been. The skeleton had vanished into thin air.

          Frisk sighed and tromped over to the gate bars. Flowey looked about the bars. “Alright. So… you can’t climb… and there isn’t much time to squeeze through these bars… can you jump?”

           “Jump?” Frisk wheezed. “N-no! No! I can’t jump!”

           “Whoa! Whoa, there. Calm down. You’re not jumping the gap,” Flowey reassured them. “I want you to walk over to the ledge and jump onto the bridge! The gate might not be passable, but it’s pretty small. Just set me down on the bridge. If you need help, I will catch you, alright? Do you trust me?”

          Frisk took a few shaky breaths. “I-I do. B-but what if I… what if I fall? I can’t s–”

           “Hush!” Flowey hissed. “You’re going to do just fine!” He calmed. “Now put me down. Jump when you’re ready. I won’t let you fall.”

          Frisk set Flowey down on the bridge and walked around the gate. One of his vines immediately whipped out and wrapped around two of the bars in the gate. It really wasn’t that long a jump. That gate wasn’t too big. Frisk attempted to take a calming breath. Yet they couldn’t do it. No matter how much they tried, they just couldn’t jump!

          Chara set their hand on Frisk’s shoulder. _“Need a little help?”_

           “Yes, please.” Frisk whimpered.

          Chara’s hand phased through their chest. Frisk’s eyes turned a brilliant scarlet. The wooden bridge showed up in crystal clarity before them. Chara crouched and jumped. Their arms slapped the bridge. Their fingers clawed into the wood. Unfortunately, the wood wasn’t rough like normal wood. It was slippery from the ice. Chara screeched as they slid farther off the side of the bridge. “FLOWEY! HELP!”

          Two of Flowey’s vines wrapped about Chara’s chest. The young human scrambled onto the bridge. Immediately, Chara, free from the body, stumbled back and put a hand to one of the bars on the gate. _“Did you just… throw me out? Huh.”_ For a moment, Frisk sat there, shivering and whimpering. Flowey retracted his vines and stared up at them. “It’s alright. We’ve gotten past the rough part. Now let’s go. That noise must have attracted someone.”

          Frisk nodded and hid Flowey inside of their coat again. They stumbled off the bridge. Sans stood just a few feet away, snickering. Flowey shot a glare at him. “What are you lookin’ at?”

          Sans laughed, “me? just a little kid with twigs for legs crying for a flower to help them.”

          Frisk glared weakly at Sans but did nothing else. Flowey growled, “You insensitive smiley trash bag! They could’ve died!”

          Sans’ smile turned sinister. His eyes darkened almost to the point where his dull irises weren’t visible. “what did you call me, little flower?”

           “A smiley trash bag! That’s what!” Flowey barked.

           “F-Flowey!” Frisk squeaked. “No! Y-you’ll just make him mad!”

          Flowey sneered, “And what? Hurt his feelings? I thought he didn’t _feel_ like hurting anyone.”

          Sans chuckled. The lights returned to his eyes. He rubbed his neck. “you’re completely right. oh, would you look at that. guess i was wrong. boss is a bit early today. it would probably be a nice time to hide. i mean, you could run. but he’d catch you. he always does. or you could stand here and see how that goes.”

          Frisk squeaked in terror and looked about. Where was a good place to hide? Where was a good place to hide?

          Sans laughed, “not so tough, little flower? go on. i expect he’ll be here soon enough.”

          Flowey hissed, “To the left! There’s a lamp over there!”

          Frisk nodded and darted to the bluish blur hiding in the snow. They knelt behind it and curled up into as tight a ball as they could. From the other side of the trail, a much taller skeleton stormed out of the snow and trees. Black armor covered his chest and spiked out of his shoulders. A scarlet scarf covering part of it around his neck. His thick black pants were held together by a scarlet belt wielding a golden skull belt buckle. Spiked scarlet gloves covered his claws hands. Red, golden-buckle boots covered his feet. Unlike his shorter counterpart, his jaws could move independently so he could open his mouth when he spoke. Unlike Sans, his eyes were smaller and didn’t glow. Unlike Sans, he held an aura of power that neither Frisk nor Flowey had the will to trifle with.

           “’sup?” Sans called.

           “YOU KNOW WHAT’S ‘SUP’, YOU LAZYBONES! YOU’RE OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! AGAIN!” Papyrus’ voice was much louder and had a slight higher pitch than Sans’ deeper, quiet voice. “YOU STILL HAVEN’T RECALIBRATED YOUR PUZZLES! YOU JUST LAZE ABOUT YOUR STATION ALL DAY! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!”

          Sans smirked. “lookin’ at this lamp. it’s pretty cool. you wanna look?”

           “NO! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!” Papyrus barked and stamped his foot into the ground. “WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I NEED TO BE READY. I WILL BE THE ONE TO CAPTURE A HUMAN! I NEED TO BE THE ONE!” Papyrus smirked and held his hand to his chest. His tattered, scarlet cape fluttered as he did so. Sans rolled his eyes. “THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET THE RECOGNITION I UTTERLY DESERVE! I WILL BE HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD! I’LL BE ADMIRED BY ALL! BUT THAT CAN’T HAPPEN IF _YOUR_ SHENANIGANS CAUSE A HUMAN TO ESCAPE!”

          Sans shrugged. “what? no, boss, i’m here to help. how about that lamp? it might help you.”

          Papyrus snarled and glowered at the lamp. The color drained from Frisk’s face. Flowey looked about. Sans’ smirk widened into an excited grin. “HOW, EXACTLY, WILL THIS LAMP HELP ME?”

           “just look at it, boss! isn’t it great?”

          Papyrus shot a heated glare at Sans and stalked toward the lamp. One of Flowey’s vines dug into the snow. A few condiments behind Sans’ station were disturbed. The two skeletons turned to the noise. Flowey’s vine whipped back into his bit of ground. Frisk, while they were distracted, backed up behind a clump of rocks behind the lamp. Sans watched their progress with sharp eyes. Papyrus stalked over to the lamp. A red bone glowed in his hand. His small eyes followed the ruffled trail until they found the human shaking and cowering, behind the lump of rocks. Frisk looked up at them with round eyes.

          Sans chuckled, “cute feign, kid. bet that would’ve worked on the dogs.”

          Papyrus sneered and then laughed. The bone dissolved from his hand. “NYE-HEH! FINALLY, A HUMAN! NOW, HUMAN: YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! YOU WILL THEN BE CAPTURED AND BROUGHT TO THE CAPITAL! AND THEN! THEN! THE KING WILL KILL YOU AND TAKE YOUR SOUL! NYEH-HEH-HEH!” With that, the skeleton turned and raced out of view.

          Frisk and Flowey watched him go.

          Sans chuckled, “well that was fun. i hope you decide to play with the puzzles. you’re dead, anyway, but it should be fun playing along. well, good luck, kid. you’ll _definitely_ need it. see you up ahead.” He waved his hand and vanished in the opposite direction of Papyrus, straight through the gate.

          Flowey sighed. “Well… we can make this work. We just have to keep a level head. Now, let’s continue forward. Come on. We’ll freeze if we stay here.”

          Frisk nodded and got to their feet and brushed off the snow on their pants and coat. They made sure that Flowey was almost completely hidden in their coat. Flowey’s head popped out from their coat. Otherwise, he was safe and warm. After taking a deep breath, Frisk trotted out of the small area, easily passing a mediocre sentry station riddled with condiments and hot dogs. Frisk perked up upon seeing not only another sparkle, but a chest beside it.

          _“Being able to overcome such scary obstacles fills you with determination.”_ Heat passed through their cold fingers. Frisk breathed a sigh of relief at the welcoming heat.


	2. Ice Puns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the most original chapter title you will ever behold.
> 
> So, we've just met the skelebros! What's that? A Papyrus that listens to Sans and checks out the lamp? _What?_ What sorcery is this? How will Papyrus and Sans interact in later puzzles, then...? How about the other denizens of Snowdin? After all, a whole section of Royal Guard along with a village of monsters are situated here.

          The young human opened their eyes and approached the box. “What is it?”

          “It’s an interdimensional box,” Flowey informed them. “Anything you put in it will appear in a similar chest down the road. So, if you want to save anything that you don’t want getting ruined, you can put it in here!”

          “Oh! Okay.” Frisk felt around the front of the chest for a few moments before opening it. Within the box was a pair of gloves. Frisk picked up the warm, thick things. They were tough gloves, indeed. No matter what their use, they covered Frisk’s hands and kept out the cold. Frisk put down the slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie.

          “Frisk, before I forget: don’t tell them,” Flowey stated.

          “Tell them what?” Frisk closed the chest.

          “Tell them that you… don’t have senses like them,” Flowey elaborated. “They’ll take anything they can get from you, you know that.”

          Frisk nodded. “They’ll find out sooner or later. But I guess… I guess not telling them would be best. I’m just afraid that maybe… what are these puzzles going to be like?”

          “I don’t know. We’ll just have to find out. Come on. Let’s keep moving,” Flowey encouraged with a small smile.

          Frisk smiled and got up. “Y-yes. I wonder what the first puzzle’s going to be like.”

          The two hadn’t even taken a turn through the woods when a monster blocked their way. Snowdrake fluttered forth!

          Frisk’s soul appeared before them. Their eyes grew wide. The creature before them was a bit larger than them. Although it’s head and body was shaped like an odd snowflake, their dark eyes and wicked beak were nothing like the playful crystals that fluttered in the wind.

          _“Snowdrake- Attack 12, Defense 7. HP 72. This teen comedian fights to keep a captive audience.”_

          “Ice puns are ‘snow’ problem!” Snowdrake boasted, though his voice wavered. Frisk chuckled in a weak, if encouraging, manner. Snowdrake rolled his eyes and sighed. “Oh whatever. Pity laughs. God my father was right.”

          Snowdrake about stalked off when Frisk called them back, “Hello? Snowdrake?”

          Snowdrake turned toward them. “What?”

          “Um… you’re starting off well,” Frisk complimented. “But, uh… maybe try for more complex jokes rather than just ice and snow. Um… like… questions! How do you get a one-armed guy out of a tree?”

          Snowdrake hesitated. “…how?”

          “You wave!” Frisk chuckled.

          Snowdrake snorted and rolled his eyes, though a faint smile dressed his wicked beak. “Yeah, yeah. Cute joke. Not good, but alright. I have a much better one, though.”

          “Oh?” Frisk prompted.

          “How many monsters does it take to build a snowman?”

          “Um… how many?”

          “Three! One to freeze the guy and another to cover him with snow!” Snowdrake chuckled and sat down on a stray log.

          Frisk laughed, though the joke did not settle well with them. “Nice! Why didn’t the gardener plant any flowers?” Frisk, too, sat down- though this time on a rock.

          “Why?” the teen comedian prompted.

          “Because he hadn’t _botany!_ ” This caused them both to laugh. Flowey rolled his eyes.

          The two of them threw jokes at each other for a good hour. Each joke was worse than the last, as Flowey claimed. Chara, smiling, suggested jokes when Frisk ran out. However, no game, no matter how fun, can last forever. Snowdrake sighed and got up. “Well, I better get back to father before he blows a gasket. I’ll see you later…?”

          “Frisk.” Frisk got up. “And this is Flowey.”

          “Alright. I’ll see you and your wet blanket later, Frisk. Bye.” Snowdrake waved his wing and fluttered back into the forest.

          “See ya!” Frisk called and began walking farther into the forest.

          “Could that have taken any longer?” Flowey groaned.

          Frisk shook their head. “No! Snowdrake needed the laugh. He was feeling down and not good with himself.”

          “pfft.” The voice they’d come accustomed to caused Frisk to stop. “nice jokes, kid. where’d you learn them? kindergarten?”

          Frisk turned to see Sans standing near a tree they’d just passed up. “No.”

          Sans looked over at the trail and then back at Frisk. “you know, it’s been an hour. i’m sure my boss is getting pretty impatient with you. i’d hurry up if i were you. i mean, unless you’d like to die now. then go ahead and dawdle.” Sans vanished into the trees again.

          Flowey groaned. “Ugh! When will that smiley trash bag ever leave us alone?”

          “Don’t call him that!” Frisk scolded. “Be nice! But I don’t know. Probably after we leave Snowdin. Flowey? What’s after Snowdin?”

          “Well, once we pass the town, we’ll be going into the marsh,” Flowey informed them. “It’s named Waterfall and I think you can guess why. After that is Hotland. You _definitely_ won’t need a coat there. We’ll have to get through the Core and then through the King’s Palace to get to the barrier. Since you’re a human, you can leave.”

          “What about you?” Frisk prompted. “Could you come with me?”

          “I… yes,” Flowey answered. “Definitely. Just as long as you take me, alright?”

          “Alright.” Frisk smiled and then stopped. Beside them was a very well crafted station. Made of bone and wood, the structure stood tall and elegant. Gold and red and black paint and details were painstakingly carved and painted into every crevice and surface. Even accidental cracks had been incorporated into the design.

          Flowey tipped his head. “Did that Papyrus guy make this? Looks like something he’d do. I mean, if he did, he’s probably a perfectionist.”

          “What is it?” Frisk asked, completely blank. A red, gold, and black blur was painted over the whites and grays of the snowy forest.

          “It’s a sentry station; pretty well crafted,” Flowey informed them. “But let’s keep moving. Now- ah no.”

          Frisk’s soul appeared before their chest. Frisk gasped and looked down. A creature just about as tall as their waist looked up at them. Its large head was somehow kept stable on its tiny body. The orange spiral cone that was its nose spun slowly. The most noticeable thing about it was its orange, spikey hat. Icecap struts into view.

          _“Icecap- Attack 11, Defense 4. HP 44. This teen wonders why he isn’t called ‘Ice hat’.”_

          Icecap sneered, “Do you call _that_ a hat?” Frisk nodded and then hesitated. They looked away from Icecap. The little monster growled and summoned spikes of ice from the ground and air. Frisk yelped and jumped and stumbled away from the thin, nearly invisible attacks. “Hello? My hat’s up here!” Frisk ignored him again. Icecap, defeated, huffed, “Fine! I don’t need you to look at my hat!” With that, the little monster turned and stalked away.

          Flowey looked after the little monster with a huff before turning ahead. “Let’s keep going.”

          Frisk nodded and continued to walk. They only stopped when a rough, growling voice piped up beside them. “Did something just move?” A dog-human monster raised his head. His scrappy black and white fur was pressed tight to him in multiple places by jeans and a shirt. His eyes, half shut, glared at Frisk and Flowey. “Was it my imagination? No, something definitely moved! Who’s there?” The dog jumped from his sentry station and unsheathed his daggers. They could be daggers or they could be short swords. Either way, they glowed scarlet. “Don’t move- or I’ll make sure you _never_ move again!”

          _“Doggo- Attack 13, Defense 7. HP 65. Partially blind; can only see moving things.”_

          Frisk’s eyes grew round. “Oh no! He’s blind, isn’t he?”

          Doggo’s attention snapped to Frisk’s exact location. “There you are!”

          “Don’t move!” Flower hissed. “Trust me! Do not move an inch!”

          Frisk shut their eyes and tensed. The dagger passed straight through Frisk’s soul and chest. Yet there was no pain.

          Doggo twitched his ears. “I knew I saw something… where are you?!”

          Frisk opened their eyes. Doggo’s squinted eyes darted back and forth. Frisk extended their hand and patted his head. Well, they managed to pet his snout, though a few fingers brushed his forehead. Doggo yelped and jumped backwards. His ears lay flat and tail brushed his shins. “Wh-who-?! P-Papyrus? Is that you?”

          “No?” Frisk answered. “I won’t hurt you. I promise!”

          Doggo bared his teeth a snarl. “Where are you?” He swung his daggers at them again. Frisk and Flowey stayed perfectly still. The daggers pasted straight through them. Confident, Frisk extended their hand and rubbed his neck. Doggo relaxed. His ears flicked forward and his tail gently waved from side to side. Frisk retracted their hand and looked up at them. Doggo hesitated and then bared his teeth. “Wh-who was that? Who touched me? Was it you, Sans? Not funny! Gah! Whatever.” Doggo flattened his ears again and stormed off, back to his sentry post.

          Frisk watched him go before continuing down the trail. “Poor guy,” Frisk sighed. “He looked hurt! Like someone hit him!”

          “They probably hit him,” Flowey huffed. “Most of the Snowdin Guard are dogs. You can’t play nice with them. But anyway, he was using a red attack.”

          “A red attack?” Frisk prompted.

          “Yes. It’s a type of magic attack,” Flowey informed them. “It’s super powerful. However, it can only hurt you if you move. I guess that’s why Doggo has those enchanted daggers. He can only see moving things, after all.”

          “Oh! That’s terrible,” Frisk muttered.

          Flowey shrugged. “If he had his full sight, you’d have been in a much worse fight.”

          “Yeah, I guess.” Frisk shrugged and continued forward. However, they couldn’t really move far as the ground slipped under them. Frisk yelped and spun around so that Frisk landed on their back rather than on Flowey. They slid quite a while before hitting snow again.

          “Are you okay?” Flowey gasped.

          Frisk nodded. “Yeah.” They winced as they attempted to sit up. “My backs hurts a bit.”

          They heard a snicker behind them. “wow. haven’t seen someone fall like that in while! you should probably watch where you’re going next time, eh?”

          Flowey glared up at Sans, who stood nonchalantly a few feet away. “We don’t know the area very well yet. I don’t see you trying to help us.”

          “why’d i help you?” Sans prompted. “my boss wouldn’t be too happy about that. heh. he always seems to know what’s happening around here. funny what you did with doggo. i do it all the time.” Sans snickered.

          “Hey!” Frisk gasped. “That’s mean! Doggo’s blind; don’t make fun of him for it.”

          Flowey piped up, “Yeah. It was. Now do you want to move out of the way or what?”

          “nah. i’m fine, thanks.”

          Frisk sighed. “I’ve got it, Flowey. You don’t need to worry.” The young human crawled onto the snow and shakily got to their feet. Great. Their back _and_ hips hurt. They really had a bad fall, didn’t they?

          “Are you _sure_ that you’re okay?” Flowey prompted as they limped forward.

          “I’m fine. I just need to stretch a bit.”

          “i’d get that checked if i were you!” Sans called after them. “bad legs means bad fights! you’re terrible as it is, you know. don’t want to make it any worse.”

          Flowey stuck his tongue out at Sans before looking forward again. “Don’t listen to him. Let’s go find somewhere to rest and maybe eat something.”

          Frisk nodded. “Okay. How about- ap!” Frisk jumped. Their soul appeared before their chest. Blocking their way was a dog. It wasn’t that big and its tail, quite fluffy, moved slowly back and forth. Although most of its armored body was hidden behind a shield and sword, they could see it’s helmetless head. The dog was just a bit smaller than Frisk.

          _“Lesser Dog- Attack 12, Defense 2. HP 60. Wields a stone dagger made of pommer-granite.”_

          Lesser dog barked and swung his sword at them. Before it could reach them, it glowed red. Frisk stood absolutely still. After it passed over them, it turned white again and swung back. They dodged this swing, too. Lesser dog pulled its arm back and stared at Frisk. Frisk attempted to raise their hand to pet it. The dog whined and took a step back, tail between its legs.

          “Hey, I won’t hurt you! I promise,” Frisk purred and extended their hand farther. The dog whimpered but didn’t move at Frisk patted its head. It winced and then opened its eyes. The dog’s tail wagged back and forth in tentative excitement. Frisk laughed and stepped back. Although Lesser Dog attacked them again, it put less heart into its attack.

          Frisk petted it again. Its neck grew a few inches and its wagged happily. This time, the dog didn’t attack. Eventually, it’s neck grew so long that Frisk had to jump to pet it.

          “I think that’s enough petting,” Flowey stated.

          Frisk nodded. “Oh. Okay. Well, bye Lesser Dog! Have a nice day!”

          Lesser dog barked and bounded away. Its neck shrunk to its normal size.

          Frisk giggled at the dog’s excitement before continuing onward. Flowey held up his vines. “Stop.”

          Before them was a large square of ground that had been swept of most of its snow. Papyrus and Sans stood on the other side. The taller skeleton perked up at their appeared. “HUMAN! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, WE’VE CREATED SOME PUZZLES!”

          “Puzzles?” Flowey prompted. “Why?”

          Papyrus went on, “THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THESE MAZE, YOU WILL GET A HEARTY JOLT! GO AHEAD, HUMAN! TRY IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!”

          Sans snickered, “but i’d avoid touching the walls. they might kill you or something. electricity does that sometimes.”

          Frisk froze to the spot, eyes growing round in terror, as they remembered the joy buzzer Sans had used on them. This puzzle was _lethal?_

          “DAMMIT, SANS! LOOK WHAT YOU DID! IF YOU SCARE THE HUMAN LIKE THAT, THEY CAN’T PROCEED!” Papyrus scolded.

          “’kay boss. sheesh. just having a bit of fun here.”

          Papyrus turned back to the human. “GO ON! THIS MAZE WON’T KILL YOU. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE CLASS, AFTER ALL, SO ALL OF MY PUZZLES ARE EXPERTLY MADE! THEY’RE NOT AS SIMPLE AND CRUDE AS LETHAL TRAPS!”

          Flowey looked back at Frisk. “Okay. This won’t kill you. Just… feel around with your feet. See if you can sense the walls.”

          Frisk nodded and shuffled forward. They were almost immediately zapped. Frisk jumped back with a gasp of pain and surprise. Flowey sighed, “That wasn’t _too_ bad, was it? Come on! The quicker we get through, the quicker we can leave!”

          Frisk nodded and shuffled the snow before them. Eventually, they got to a place where static electricity did not bother their feet. When they shuffled forward, they weren’t shocked. Frisk smiled and continued forward. After about a dozen shock-inducing failures, one of which made them jump away from an electric wall and fall into another, they made it to the other side.

          “HMM… NOT AS GOOD AS YOU COULD HAVE BEEN, BUT YOU MADE IT! HOWEVER, THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE THAT EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY LACKEY, SANS. YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED AND WHEN YOU ARE, WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO CAPTURE YOU! NYEH-HEH-HEH!” Papyrus laughed and bounded back down the trail.

          Sans watched as Frisk limped in the direction that Papyrus had raced through. “hey, kid. nice try. hope you didn’t get too battered, right? how’s the leg?”

          “Um… okay,” Frisk assured him.

          “okay. welp, see ya later.” Sans vanished into the tree line again.

          “Where does he keep going?” Flowey wondered aloud. “Anyway, we should stop for a second. Do you still have that candy?”

          Frisk gently lowered themselves so that they sat down on the log. “Did you want some?”

          Flowey shook his head. “No. But it heals you. Here in the underground, food will heal you. That candy doesn’t do very much, but it could help your back.”

          “Really?” Frisk smiled and took out the candy they’d been hiding in their pockets. It had a distinct, non-licorice flavor. Almost immediately, her back and hips stopped hurting. “Wow! That’s- that’s really nice. Thanks, Flowey! Did you want one?”

          Flowey shook his head. “No. I’m alright. Now what’s around here… ah! There’s a bridge. I think there might be another puzzle over there… it can’t be too bad, though. Come on, let’s go.”

          Frisk nodded and strolled into the snow. A cliff created an impassible barrier to the north and south of them. An extremely deep ditch split their little piece of land in half. A deep brown bridge spanned the distance between the two pieces of land. Frisk happily skipped over it. A large ‘L’ shaped area within the area was cleared of snow. A patch of ice created a swath of impassible territory within the bottom left corner of it. A ball of snow sat happily at the very top with a hole just big enough for it at the bottom right corner. “What’s this?”

          “It’s just a game. You have to push the ball of snow over to the hole. Depending on how fast you do it, since the ball melts rather quickly, you can win a prize. But that will take a long time. I’m sure that there is a better way to…” Flowey cut himself off with a sigh as Frisk began pushing the ball to the hole. Unfortunately, the ball melted quite often as it was caught on the other side of the ice. It took a while to run around the ice to push the ball again. That was not to mention that the ball was a very bright shade of snowy white, as it was made from snow, and the ground was just a shade darker as it was also made of snow. So, Frisk could not even begin to see the game they were playing. Flowey and Chara both helped guide them through the game. Although many times the ball melted before it could arrive at the hole, there were times when it did make it. When the ball was kicked into the hole, a flag of varying colors with different messaged would pop up along with a different amount of gold.

          Frisk shuffled through the snow and guided the ball slowly to the hole. A vibrant green flag popped out of the hole, a message clinging to its pole just below the flag. A single g plopped into the snow. Flowey read aloud, “Your concern and care for ‘Ball’ led to a delicious victory.”

          Frisk struggled to get the ball to the hole before it melted. A purple flag bearing a message popped out of the ground. Two g clinked together on the snow. Flowey looked over the message on the pole. “Even when you felt trapped, you took notes and achieved the end of ‘Ball.’”

          Frisk, a smile now on their face as they began to get used to the ball, bounced and jumped and danced about the ball. It became more of a dance with the ball then to get the ball into the hole. A blue flag jumped out of the ground bearing a message. Two g plopped into the snow. “Hopping and twirling, your original style pulled you through.”

          After a quick scolding from Flowey, Frisk stopped playing with the ball and concentrated on finishing the game. With great care and accuracy, Frisk slowly guided the ball to the hole. A yellow flag popped out of the ground along with three g. “Your sure-fire accuracy put an end to the mayhem of ‘Ball.’”

          Frisk, happy with their progress, played the game again. Although guiding it down the area shrunk it a bit, a final kick sent it bouncing into the hole. A cyan flag bearing four g popped out of the hole in the snow. “‘Ball’ is ‘Small.’ You waited, still, for this opportunity, ... then dethroned ‘Ball’ with a sharp attack.”

          Flowey, irritated, finally helped in earnest. They were able to get the ball safely and quickly to the goal. A gold flag popped out of the ground. Five g littered the snowy ground around them. “You are the kind of person who rushes fists-first through all obstacles.”

          Determined to see the game completed, Frisk rushed the ball across the game with as much accuracy and speed as a person who could see their target. After dozens of attempts at playing through the game, Frisk was able to kick the ball into the hole within a few breaths of hitting it. A scarlet flag burst from the hole. Fifty g rained across the snowy ground. “Bravery. Justice. Integrity. Kindness. Perseverance. Patience. Using these, you were able to win at ‘Ball Game.’”

          Frisk smiled and sat down beside the hole. “See? I knew we could do it! We just had to stay determined! How many g did we get?”

          Flowey took their bag and looked through it. “Well, we got ten green, three purple, five blue, two yellow, two cyan, two gold, and one red flag. That should be… a hundred? I think? Yes, we have a hundred.”

          “A hundred? Whoa!” Frisk breathed. “That’s so cool! I’ve never had a hundred of anything before!”

          “Yeah. Well, now we have g,” Flowey agreed. “Just don’t go shouting it, okay? We’ll attract even more bad attention. Come on. Let’s keep going. We don’t want to keep _The Great Papyrus_ waiting.”

          Frisk nodded and stood up. “Oh! Right! It’s very rude to keep someone waiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively:
>
>>   
> Snowdrake snorted and rolled his eyes, though a faint smile dressed his wicked beak. “Yeah, yeah. Cute joke. Not good, but alright. I have a much better one, though.”  
> “Oh?” Frisk prompted.  
> “Why did little Suzy fall off the swing set?"  
> “Um… why?"  
> “Because she didn't have any arms!” Snowdrake chuckled and sat down on a stray log.  
> Frisk laughed, though the joke did not settle well with them. “Nice, uh, one!"  
> Snowdrake puffed out his chest. "Knock, knock!"  
> "Who's there?"  
> "Not little Suzy!" Snowdrake laughed.  
> "Ehehe!" Frisk chuckled in meek agreement. "Good one! Um! Why didn't the gardener plant any flowers?"  
> 
> 
> What you don't see is Sans scowling behind a bush because he told that joke to Tori and really no one else. Whoops! 


	3. Cross Word Jumble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There! Crossword and Jumble together. Happy you two? ;D
> 
> Anyhoo, we've gone through some good stuff. Frisk now has one hundred g from that spectacular game! Hey! They're feeling pretty good about themselves right about now. Wouldn't you? Hehe Let's see if that lasts.

          “Oops. Skeleton alert,” Flowey huffed with a roll of his eyes.

          Frisk perked up and trotted to the square patch of mostly snowless ground. A piece of paper was in the center. Papyrus and Sans cut off their conversation to look at the young human. Papyrus smiled and called, “HUMAN! I HOPE YOU ARE READY FOR…” Papyrus’ eyes narrowed. “SANS! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE?”

          “it’s right there, boss. trust me, they won’t get past this one,” Sans reassured him.

          Frisk knelt beside the piece of paper. Scribbles covered most of the page. A sweating ice cube with a fanged smile sat on the middle left-edge of the page. A list of scribbles was under the main block of text. “What is…?”

          Flowey sighed. “It’s a cross-word puzzle. Why am I surprised? You don’t look like the type to try to do anything.”

          “Flowey!” Frisk scolded and sat down more comfortably. “He didn’t even say anything mean this time! …do I have a pen?” They zipped down their coat and checked their pocket and bag. Finally, a pen half-filled with ink was produced from their bag.

          “Just… set me down,” Flowey grumbled. Frisk set him down beside the puzzle and offered him their pen.

          “A CROSSWORD?” Papyrus hissed at Sans. “ARE YOU SERIOUS?”

          “yeah,” Sans answered with a shrug.

          “UGH! AT LEAST GIVE THEM A CHALLENGE. JUMBLE IS EASILY MUCH HARDER THAN A _CROSSWORD,_ ” Papyrus growled.

          “nah, boss. watch. they’ll fail this one for sure. you’ll _see._ ” Sans’ scarlet eyes flicked to Frisk. “of course, unless you can even _read_ that.”

          Flowey hissed, “Shut up! Fine. Frisk, circle–”

          “isn’t the human supposed to solve it?” Sans raised his voice to cut off the flower.

          “…YES. YES THEY ARE.” Papyrus’ eyes narrowed in suspicion at Frisk.

          _“Do you need help? I’m sure that concentrating on the paper will give us clear sight. Maybe, if the language is still the same, I could aid you in reading.”_

          “Yes,” Frisk murmured and squinted to look over the puzzle. Their eyes turned red. Chara was very easily able to solve this puzzle.

          Flowey shot incredulous looks at them as they worked. “Uh… you can understand that?”

          “Yes,” Chara answered. “…somewhat.”

          Eventually, Chara crossed through the last of the words. Their eyes faded from scarlet to brown. Frisk put away their pen, put Flowey back in their jacket, and got up. They handed it over to Papyrus. “There! All twelve words.”

          Flowey smirked at Sans and then gave a bright, cute smile to Papyrus. “I agree. Jumble would’ve been much harder.” Frisk gave him a warning look. Sans’ eyes narrowed, though his permanent smile did not leave him.

          Papyrus huffed, “OF COURSE THAT’S RIGHT. THIS CROSSWORD WAS MUCH TOO EASY! SANS AND I WILL MEET YOU AT THE NEXT PUZZLE, THEN. COME ON, YOU LAZY BONES!” Papyrus snapped at Sans before stalking off in the direction of the new puzzle.

          Sans glared at them. “don’t let him find out you cheated. don’t deny it. i know what you did, you dirty cheater.” He smirked and strolled after his brother, who currently huffed at him a few yards away.

          Frisk looked in the direction of the two skeletons. Papyrus was easily faster but Sans somehow caught up to him. Frisk sighed and continued their path. Just before a rocky outcrop, a table dressed by an empty plate and a microwave sat. A yellow sparkle hovered opposite of it on the narrow piece of land. Two notes were on the plate. Flowey looked over the notes. “The first one says: ‘Cinnabunnies for anyone who wants them! If you like them, visit my store!’ The second one says: ‘sorry. i ate them all. they weren’t even that good. – sans.’ That sounds like him.” Flowey huffed and looked at the microwave. A cord ran from it to the wall, where a generator was merged into the rock. A little mouse hole was beside it, heavily decorated with cinnamon bunny crumbs. A mouse poked its little head out to snatch another crumb before retreating. Frisk touched the little yellow sparkle.

          _“Seeing such a cute mouse eat a treat fills you with determination.”_

          Flowey watched the area in front of them as they walked. “Oh, a sign… hmm… ‘Warning: Dog Marriage’. What kind of warning is that? Can dogs even get married?”

          “Oh! That’s so cute!” Frisk purred and continued forward. There were two paths. One of them led to a dead end while the other dipped down and went to the right. Trees and rocks blocked their way in many places.

           “Frisk? Where are you going?” Flowey prompted as Frisk walked toward the dead end. “The trail’s that way!”

          “I know. But what if there’s something here?” Frisk prompted as they walked. They ducked under a tree branch and passed a large boulder. Behind another few trees was a small strip of snowless land. “Oh! Is this another puzzle?”

          “I don’t know. Unlikely,” Flowey answered. “It’s a bit small.”

          “Well… only one way to find out!” Frisk attempted to take out their stick. Unfortunately, the gloves they wore weren’t made to hold sticks. So, Frisk pawed at the ground with their foot. “Hmm… I think there’s something there. What is it?” The young human knelt and felt the ground with their hand. Flowey touched one of his vines to the ground. _Click!_ The switch was depressed with vines.

          “Well, let’s hope that was a good thing,” Flowey sighed as he retracted his vine. It vanished into the soil of his boot again.

          “I wonder what it did.” Frisk turned and trotted away from the dead end and down through the path they needed to take. A large area of loose snow made a square before a line of retracted spikes. When Frisk kicked at the snow, it began to reveal a map where a red x marked the spot where the switch was. “Oh! We figured out the puzzle without looking at the instructions!” Frisk chirruped.

          “Well… let’s not be too sure,” Flowey replied slowly. “What if that alerted some guards? I think there are a few other dogs around here.”

          “Oh. Well, let’s find out, then.” Frisk gently hopped over the line of retracted spikes. A bridge spanned between their piece of land and another piece of land, which moved in the right direction. As soon as they walked over the bridge and to a snowless area of land on the other side, two barks alerted them of the presence of new dogs.

          Two dogs wielding very large axes and donned in midnight hoods sniffed around the place. “Is that…?” the male hound inquired. Scars cut across his face and the visible parts of his hands and ankles.

          “A smell?” the female agreed, also riddled with scars. “A bad smell, too…”

          The male dog walked around to where Frisk was standing. He sniffed the air with a new fervor. “I think I smell…”

          “…a human!” the female hissed in excitement as she now flanked Frisk.

          Frisk’s soul appeared before them. The two dogs now stood before them, axes gleaming in the light. They stood quite close to each other. Although they glared in Frisk’s direction, their axes were held to shelter each other.

          _“Dogamy- Attack 14, Defense 5. HP 98. Knows only what he smells. Husband of Dogeressa. Dogeressa- Attack 14, Defense 5. HP 98. Wife of Dogamy. Loves the smell of puppies.”_

         Dogamy and Dogeressa’s axes left each other’s sides. Now, they whipped through the air and smashed into the ground. Frisk wheezed as the face of Dogamy’s ax sent them sprawling on the wet, snowy ground below. They scrambled to their feet to avoid another attack.

          “Where’s that smell…?” Dogamy growled. Their axes shifted to protect each other again.

          Frisk shook off the snow. “U-um, I’m a good smell?”

          “Such a tiny voice…” Dogeressa mumbled.

          “What does that matter?” Dogamy growled and barked. Dogeressa snarled and barked as well.

          Frisk yelped as white and red blurs raced about them. Red phased right through them. White, on the other hand, didn’t. They gasped and grimaced as their soul began to crack under the pressure.

          “I won’t hurt you!” Frisk offered.

          They didn’t speak this time. They barked in unison again. Unfortunately, Frisk managed to evade the white blurs only to fall victim to a red one. Their soul cracked and immediately Frisk felt faint. They collapsed in pain as the attack nearly shattered their soul completely. The dogs snarled at them again. Frisk tried to move, but ended up flopping on their side. Now they were cold and wet as snow clung to their clothes.

          Dogamy sniffed the air. “Wait… what’s that smell?”

          “Are you…?” Dogeressa tipped her head. “Actually a puppy?” Both of their axes lowered.

          Frisk whimpered and got to their feet.

          “We attacked a puppy!” Dogeressa yelped and then snarled. “A weird smell? You almost killed a puppy!”

          “Me? You attacked it, too!” Dogamy growled back.

          Dogeressa snarled and snapped at him. Blood glistened on his muzzle where his wife’s teeth had cut him. “Don’t you _dare_ blame me!”

          Dogamy snapped at her, too. She managed to dodge the attack. Every tooth she could possibly bare glinted in the light. Their axes clattered to the ground. “ _Your_ attack nearly killed them!” Dogamy barked.

          Frisk bowed their head and ran away. Now the origin of their scars wasn’t so mysterious.

          Flowey yelped, “Wait! Wait!”

          Frisk gasped and staggered to a stop. They nearly slipped over the edge of a precipice.

          “You should sit down,” Flowey advised.

          Frisk nodded and shakily sat down on one of the stones. The second piece of candy was not too much of a balm. Although it stopped most of the pain, their left shoulder and ankle still hurt. “That’s all I have left.”

          Flowey looked about. There was a puzzle nearby. It was shaped in a side-ways ‘H’ made of stone. A blue X was in either side of the center stripe of rocks. Below the side-ways H was a sign. Above the puzzle was a switch. On the other side of the puzzle was a strip of spikes. “Well… maybe we can find something later on. If not, well, we’ll figure it out.”

          Frisk nodded and got up. “Alright. What does that sign say?”

          Flowey, once they got within range, read aloud, “‘Turn every X into an O and then press the button.’ Easy enough.”

          Frisk nodded and walked around it. As soon as they stepped on the blue X, it turned into a red O. Once both X’s were O’s, Frisk stood on the switch. The strip of spikes retracted into the ground.

          Frisk, confident, strode over the former wall of spikes and into the next area. They passed a particularly large tree to the left only to see Papyrus staring down the next puzzle. Frisk jumped upon suddenly seeing the red-garbed skeleton beside them.

          “Ak! I thought that smiley trash-bag was the one who comes out of thin air,” Flowey grumbled.

          Papyrus’ attention snapped to them. Flowey quieted and hid himself in Frisk’s jacket. “HUMAN! YOU MADE IT PAST THOSE DOGS? SINCE YOU SOLVED THAT X-AND-O PUZZLE, I’M SURE YOU KNOW HOW TO OPPERATE THEM.” Papyrus trotted over to the new puzzle. Frisk was quick to heel. Then, the skeleton stopped. The new puzzle looked more like a maze. “HMM… I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SAY THIS. WELL, YOU WERE TAKING YOUR TIME SO I DECIDED TO MAKE A FEW IMPROVEMENTS TO THIS PUZZLE BY ARRANGING IT IN THE SHAPE OF MY FACE!” Papyrus smirked and held his hand to his chest. “UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW STUCK TO THE GROUND SO THE SOLUTION IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! THERE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE ONE! THAT IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. SO, I WILL SOLVE THIS PUZZLE MYSELF! YOU CAN TRY IT OUT IN THE MEANTIME.”

          Frisk nodded happily. “I’d love to! Now… um…” They walked around the puzzle a few times. It did look like Papyrus. However, the X’s were very close together. There was a pattern, but of what kind?

          If Frisk stepped on an X twice or stepped on an O, it would turn into a green triangle that couldn’t be changed. So, Frisk reset the puzzle by stepping on the button and continued moving around it. After a few minutes of trying and failing, Frisk and Flowey finally found the solution. The wall of spikes on the other side retreated.

          Papyrus, who had previously been very harshly scolding an icecap, turned to look at the noise. Immediately, the teenager fled. “SO, YOU SOLVED IT! BEFORE EVEN I DID! INCREDIBLE! AH, WELL THEN. I’M SURE YOU’LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU! NYEH-HEH-HEH!” Papyrus walked around the puzzle and darted away.

          Frisk, beaming, held Flowey close and trotted after him. Sans’ snarky voice stopped them. “heh. you must be really good at puzzles, huh? not like you could’ve _seen_ this one before. you didn’t even need my help. which is great because i really like doing nothing.”

          Flowey huffed, “You wouldn’t have helped us, anyway.”

          “you don’t know that.” Sans shrugged. “but, i guess i’ll be up ahead, kid. see ya.” The short skeleton strolled back across the puzzle.

          Frisk looked at him in confusion before turning ahead again. Flowey grumbled, “Yeah, right. Why is he even so mean? At least Papyrus is decent enough to admit when you win.”

          “Papyrus is much nicer,” Frisk agreed. “But you should probably stop being so mean. It’s like trying to fight fire with fire. You’ll both get burned.”

          Flowey grumbled, “Yeah, I guess. Oh good. Found them again!”

          Frisk perked up and stopped. Before them was a bridge connecting their land to another piece of land. The other one, however, was dominated by a large tile floor of varying shades of gray, black, and white. A square machine sat in the snow on the left-top corner. Sans was immediately next to it. Papyrus, however, was at the center, just about a foot away from the tiles. “HUMAN! YOU’RE HERE. GOOD. THIS IS THE INFAMOUS ‘COLORED TILE MAZE’ MADE BY THE BRILLIANT DR. ALPHYS! YOU SEE THESE TILES? ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH, THEY’LL START CHANGING COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION!” Papyrus took a deep breath and began, “RED TILES ARE IMPASSIBLE. YOU CANNOT STEP ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC; THEY WILL SHOCK YOU! GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES. IF YOU STEP ON THEM, YOU’LL BE FORCED TO FIGHT A MONSTER! ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE SCENTED! THEY’LL MAKE YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES. BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH THEM ALL YOU LIKE. HOWEVER! IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES, PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU! ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A YELLOW TILE, IT’LL SHOCK YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY AND SOAPY! YOU’LL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE. THEY’LL COMPLETELY OVERRIDE ORANGE TILES AND MAKE YOU SMELL LIKE LEMONS, WHICH THE PIRANHAS HATE! FINALLY: PINK TILES. THEY DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING; STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

          Frisk hesitated and looked at Flowey. “D-do you get it?”

          “Yeah… a few of them. Do you?”

          “Um… most of them?”

          “GREAT! THERE IS ONE LAST THING: THIS TILE MAZE IS COMPLETELY RANDOM! ARE YOU READY? GOOD! ONCE I PULL THIS LEVER, THE PUZZLE WILL ACTIVATE!” Papyrus stepped toward the machine and pulled a lever connected to it. Frisk gasped and looked about the tiles as they rapidly changed colors and patterns. Flowey watched the ground in suspicion. Finally, the colors stopped changing. A giant pink line of tiles moving from Frisk to the skeletons cut through the middle. Red flanked it on both sides.

          Papyrus stared at the puzzle for a few seconds before snarling rapid swears under his breath at the obviously broken tile maze. The infuriated skeleton stormed away from the puzzle. Sans looked at him and then the machine and then to Frisk, who had already crossed the puzzle. Sans huffed, “you’re lucky alphys rigged it.” With that, the shorter skeleton trotted after Papyrus.

          Frisk looked at the machine. It was off. Flowey looked back at the puzzle. “Yeah. Lucky. What terrible thing made by the Great Papyrus is up next?”

          Frisk shrugged and continued forward. This strip of land was completely clear of trees. A sentry station-dog house hybrid stood at the center-top of the square place. Long piles of snow reached up toward the sky or curled or broke. Near the bottom-right corner was a golden sparkle. An antlered monster looked about the place.

          When they got within a few feet of the antlered monster, it huffed, “A dog just rushed in here with an excitement I haven’t seen in a guard dog in a long time. It kept trying to build the perfect snow dog. But as it worked, it grew excited. The more excited it was, the farther its neck grew. It was pretty sad, but I just couldn’t look away. I don’t know if they’re even allowed to play in the snow. Wasn’t it supposed to be on guard?”

          Frisk turned and walked down to the bottom of the area. _“Knowing that the dog will never stop trying to build the perfect snow dog fills you with determination.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mommy and Daddy are fighting again. :(


	4. Snow Poff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a snow poff.

          Flowey craned his neck-stem and looked ahead. “Uh-oh. I really don’t like this puzzle.”

          Frisk perked up and continued forward. A very large patch of ice was between them and the next area. There were multiple spots within the ice that were snowy and had X’s on them. A button was at the very end of the patch of ice. There was no bridge between it and the snow in the next area.

          Frisk sighed and began working on the puzzle. They failed quite a few times. There were many green triangles. Frisk often slid off the puzzle and fell onto a puff of snow. In the center of the small area was a great statue of Papyrus made of snow. A lump of snow with the name ‘Sans’ written in red marker sat beside it. Flowey smirked. “That is completely them.”

          Once the puzzle had been completed, they found that the next area was quite interesting. Eight snow poffs littered the ground. One snow poff was in the center of the snowy bridge between that area and the next. A small dog house was at the top-center. “Oh! How cute! I wonder if there’s another dog nearby,” Frisk thought aloud.

          Flowey looked about. “I don’t know and I hope we don’t find out. We should move quickly.”

          Frisk nodded. “Okay, okay. I hope it’s friendly. I love dogs.”

          “I could tell,” Flowey agreed. “But these guys aren’t like dogs on the surface. You should remember that!”

          “I know. But… most of them seemed happy. They were just hurt.”

          Flowey sighed. “Yeah. But… they’re still guard dogs. Remember the monster mentality? All monsters know that phrase and hold it close.”

          Frisk pouted but continued, anyway. “I’ll find a way to free everyone and put an end to this meanness.”

          When they approached the snow poff on the trail, a tail popped out the back. They stopped. A small dog head popped out of the snow and barked. Before Frisk could coo at it, as it was very small and cute, the snow fell away. The dog stood up. It had a small dog head, but it was in a giant suit of armor- at least twice or thrice the size of Frisk. His giant spear reached from the ground to his head.

          _“Greater Dog- Attack 15, Defense 8. HP 105. This dog thinks that fighting is just play.”_

          The large guard dog barked happily. Frisk yelped and dodged the blurred white attacks sent at them. When the dog stopped barking, he stared at Frisk intensely.

          “Um…” Frisk hesitated and pulled out their stick. The dog’s eyes grew round and he barked again. The young human launched the stick as far as they could. The dog chased the stick. They played for a short while before the dog grew tired. Frisk dodged another few bark-borne attacks. “Come here, boy!” Greater dog obeyed in an instant. Frisk laughed and patted his chest. The dog collapsed onto Frisk, sighing happily as they pet him. The dog even began to doze off. However, it caught itself sleeping and jumped up. Frisk jumped back as the dog barked again. This time, Frisk made a snow ball and threw it.

          As Greater Dog rushed after it, Flowey inquired, “Why are we playing? We should go while he’s distracted!”

           “But he wants to play,” Frisk complained. Greater Dog brought back a whole pile of snow and dropped it in front of them. Excited, the dog waved his spear at them. It glowed red and phased through Frisk. Frisk, once they’d gotten back on their feet, petted him again. Greater Dog dropped his spear and rolled onto the ground. His legs hung in the air and his tongue lolled.

          Frisk giggled and rubbed his neck before getting up. The dog whined for a bit as they left. Frisk hesitated and threw the stick. “I’ve got to go, now! So, you can have that!”

          Greater Dog jumped to his feet and chased after the stick. Once it got to it, the dog flopped onto the ground and happily chewed on its new toy.

          Frisk continued through their trail. Almost as soon as they left that area, they found a yellow sparkle on a small island. “Knowing that you have just given Greater Dog the first toy since puppyhood, it fills you with determination.”

          This time, the gap between their piece of land and the next wasn’t so small. It was so large that Frisk couldn’t even see the end of the brown blur as it blended into the white background. “What’s on the other side?”

          “Um… oh great. The skeletons.” Flowey sighed. “Well, we’ll run into them soon, anyway. Let’s make it quick and hope it’s another failed puzzle.”

          Frisk gripped the sides of the wobbly bridge and walked. They yelped and gasped each time the bridge shifted or shuttered under them. They could hear muffled snickering from Sans and a quick, harsh scolding from Papyrus. Once they got to the point where Frisk could tell that there were two red blobs instead of just one, Papyrus’ voice stopped them. “HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DEADLY CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GUANTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!” Papyrus took out a remote with a large, red button on it.

          From the sky, a large mace on a chain, a giant spear, and a large dog tied to a rope hung over the bridge. The dog waved its leg and shook its head. A spiked collar dressed its neck. Under the bridge, a spear, a flamethrower, and a canon was ready to fire. Frisk’s and Flowey’s eyes grew round in shock and fear.

          Papyrus continued, “AS SOON AS I PRESS THIS BUTTON, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN. THE CHANCE OF VICTORY IS QUITE SLIM! ARE YOU READY, HUMAN? BECAUSE I’M GOING TO ACTIVATE IT RIGHT… NOW!”

          At first, nothing happened. Then, the fire from the flamethrower beneath them flared. The rope handrails on either side of them crackled. With a shriek of terror, Frisk raced forward to escape the flames. Chara phased into their body and caused them to drop. The mace above them swung harmlessly by. Yet, at the same time, the spear beneath them shot up and– _shirk. Chink!_

 

          _You cannot give up just yet… Chara! Stay determined…_

 

          Frisk gasped and grasped their chest in their hand. They could still feel the spear tearing through their chest. “Wh-what…?”

          Flowey looked about. “Oh no. Oh that’s bad. That is _very_ bad. How are we going to dodge that?!”

          “W-we’ll have to try,” Frisk stated. “We… maybe we’ll be able to memorize the pattern. There is a way to get through after all. Papyrus wouldn’t make a puzzle impossible.”

          “I hate the sound of that,” Flowey groaned. “But let’s not dawdle. I’ll memorize it. Don’t worry.”

          “Okay.” Frisk forced their shaky feet to hit the wobbly wooden bridge. Eventually, as they walked, they began to distinguish black from red from white from brown.

          “HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DEADLY CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GUANTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!” Papyrus took out a remote with a large, red button on it.

          From the sky, a large mace on a chain, a giant spear, and a large dog tied to a rope hung over the bridge. The dog waved its legs and shook its head. A spiked collar dressed its neck. Under the bridge, a spear, a flamethrower, and a canon was ready to fire. Flowey’s gaze flicked about the machinery. Frisk stayed ‘staring’ at Papyrus.

          Papyrus continued, “AS SOON AS I PRESS THIS BUTTON, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN. THE CHANCE OF VICTORY IS QUITE SLIM! ARE YOU READY, HUMAN? BECAUSE I’M GOING TO ACTIVATE IT RIGHT… NOW!”

          Fire blazed beneath them. Frisk’s eyes glimmered scarlet. They skittered away from the breath of hot air from the fire. After ducking under the mace, they rolled out of the way of the spear. The weapon shattered the part of the bridge in which they had just been on. Unfortunately, they forgot to account for the second spear. The ground beneath them was shattered along with their soul as the spear struck from above. _Shirk. Chink!_

 

          _You cannot give up just yet… Chara! Stay determined…_

 

          Frisk, Flowey, and Chara appeared by the save point again. Frisk grumbled unhappily and forced themselves to walk down the bridge. The metal slice of the spear still ached in their chest. The next time it was activated, they managed to dodge the spears. However, the dog bit down on their neck and threw them off balance. The young human and flower dropped into the abyss. _Shirk. Chink!_

 

          _You cannot give up just yet… Chara! Stay determined…_

 

          Once they were able to get back into the bridge, they managed to get passed the mace and fire and the first spear. They stumbled and fell prey to the second spear. _Shirk. Chink!_

 

          _You cannot give up just yet… Chara! Stay determined…_

 

          “HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DEADLY CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GUANTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!” Papyrus, for the twentieth time, took out a remote with a large, red button on it.

          From the sky, a large mace on a chain, a giant spear, and a large dog tied to a rope hung over the bridge. The dog waved its legs and shook its head. A spiked collar dressed its neck. Under the bridge, a spear, a flamethrower, and a canon was ready to fire. Flowey’s gaze flicked about the machinery. Chara set a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. Frisk stayed ‘staring’ at Papyrus.

          Papyrus continued, “AS SOON AS I PRESS THIS BUTTON, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN. THE CHANCE OF VICTORY IS QUITE SLIM! ARE YOU READY, HUMAN? BECAUSE I’M GOING TO ACTIVATE IT RIGHT… NOW!”

          Chara phased into Frisk and bounced away from the fire. They ducked and jumped away from the mace and landed in a roll as to avoid both spears. They leaned out of the way of the dog whose teeth snapped the air near their nose. The cannon below shattered the bridge. Chara jumped over the gap made by the cannon and skittered onto the snow on the other side. Chara, after the twentieth time of trying to get past the gauntlet, let go of Frisk and stood next to them.

          Frisk, wheezing, clambered to their feet and shut their eyes. Flowey looked up at them. “Now: Finished. Easy.”

          “WELL!” Papyrus lowered the remote and stood up straight. “IT SEEMS THAT YOU HAVE INDEED SUCCESFULLY COMPLETED THIS PUZZLE!” Papyrus waved his hand and put away the remote. The weapons, and dog, retraced back to their original places. “GOOD! THAT JUST MEANS THAT YOU HAVE ONLY ONE CHALLENGE LEFT, HUMAN. MEET ME JUST OUTSIDE OF SNOWDIN AND WE WILL SEE HOW STRONG YOU REALLY ARE! PREPARE YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY! NYEH-HEH-HEH!” Papyrus laughed and rushed away from the bridge.

          Flower shook his head. “Well that was… Frisk? Are you okay?”

          Frisk blinked and bit their tongue. “We’re going to have to… _fight_ him?”

          “Yeah, I guess,” Flowey sighed. Frisk continued moving. “But we’ll definitely be ready.”

          Sans cackled behind them. “i wouldn’t bet on it, kid!”

          Flowey turned around at hissed at Sans. Flowey’s face contorted so that his mouth, wide and jagged with teeth, was open in a hiss. His large, hollow eyes were narrowed with only a slight white glimmer to show their pupils. Sans stopped laughing and recoiled. Flowey turned ahead. His face relaxed to that of its normal state. “Just keep moving.”

          Frisk nodded and started walking again. Ahead of them, breaking through the trees to create a large clearing, was a friendly looking town. A giant sign on the trail to Snowdin read “SNOWDIN TOWN”. The first building was large. It was split in two. The left side of it was a shop and the right side of it was an inn. A yellow sparkle hovered between the door and an interdimensional box.

          Frisk perked up and touched the yellow glimmer. _“Seeing such a small town in the middle of a snowy forest fills you with determination.”_ Their pain left them.

          Flowey looked about. “I don’t like the look of this place.”

           “What do you mean?” Frisk looked about. A house stood between some trees next to the Inn. Near that was a large, bustling building called “Grillby’s.” Farther down the compact, snowy ground another trial branched out. On the other side of that was a library which flanked a large wooden house and a smaller shed. A large conifer tree dominated the middle of the road near the inn. The only thing that seemed off was the fact that no one was outside.

          Flowey huffed, “There’s no one outside!”

          “Maybe it’s time for school,” Frisk offered.

          “The day’s almost over,” Flowey pointed out. “Look, these monsters are rough. You don’t want to mess with them. If someone catches us walking about, they might just attack us!”

          Frisk’s blurry gaze flicked about before falling on the shop. “Well then… let’s go inside for a little bit.”

          Flowey sighed. “If you wish.”

          Frisk opened the door to the shop and stepped in. A blast of heat fell over them. They sighed happily as the heat of the shop began to chase away the nipping cold they felt. They looked about. The walls were very well decorated. Food decorated the counter that the bunny was behind. A lonely bandana and gloves were beside the pastries.

          “Oh! Are you the one who put the Cinnabunnies outside?” Frisk inquired upon smelling the sweet smell of cinnamon buns.

          The bunny perked up. “Why yes I did! Are you looking to buy a few? Just 25g. Bicycles are 12g.”

          Frisk bit their tongue and nodded. “Okay. Here! One of each, please!”

          Flowey hissed. “What are you doing?”

          “You said that food healed you,” Frisk pointed out. “Plus, she at least deserves to get something out of her generosity, right?”

          The bunny hesitated as she handed the roll to them. “What do you mean?”

          “I mean, you put those out for people to eat!”

          “I was just advertising.” The bunny waved her hand dismissively and took the coins.

          “Well then it’s good advertising.” Frisk chuckled and put the cinnabunny and bicycle in their bag. “So, how are you doing?”

          “How am I doing?” the bunny echoed. “Er…”

          Frisk gave them an encouraging smile. “How about this: how’s business?”

          “Business is well… people are buying my food.” The bunny shrugged and narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

          “I just want to be friendly is all,” Frisk answered with a shrug. “It helps a lot!”

          “…” The bunny stared at them. No emotion showed.

          “Um… I’m doing well,” Frisk offered. “I’m going to rest up a little bit. Then I’m going to meet Papyrus outside of town! What are you going to be up to today?”

          “Papyrus?” the bunny gasped. Her ears flicked back. “Is he following you around here?” Her eyes darted to the door.

          Frisk shook their head. “No, no! It’s nothing like that! I’m going to the capital. But I have to talk to him about it, first, I guess.”

          “Talk to…? Oh.” She relaxed and flicked an ear. “Okay. Well, my sister has an inn that you can sleep in, if you want. The library’s open to all. And, uh, Grillby’s has some nice food. It’s pretty greasy, but it’s an okay joint. Have you been there at all, yet?”

          Frisk shook their head. “Nope. This is the first place I’ve been to. Well, thanks for being nice! It’s getting late so I think I should be going to bed. Have a nice day!” Frisk waved and trotted out of the shop. They could barely hear the bunny mutter a “Poor kid” before shuffling through her cabinet.

          Frisk looked back before walking around the chest and into the next door. A rather tall bunny was behind a counter, talking to a smaller bunny. “…don’t play with that bell again, young man! That’s for customers to use!”

          “Sorry, Ma.”

          “You- oh! Hello!” The bunny straightened and turned to look at Frisk as they walked in.

          “Hello!” Frisk greeted. “Your sister said that this was a nice place to stay.”

          “Did she? Well, it _is_ the best place you’ll find on this side of the Underground. It’s 80g to stay here.”

          Frisk took out the coins that they had and looked through it. “Oh. Um… I only have sixty-seven. Sorry. W-well, I hope you have better luck with business!”

          “Child, where are you going?” the bunny prompted. “It’s nearly night.”

          Frisk shrugged. “I’m going to go to the capital! But I have to meet Papyrus first.”

          The bunny gave them a soft smile. “Child, you can’t go to the capital all ruffled and tired! You can stay for a while if you wish- free of charge. I’ll show you the way.”

          “Thanks!” Frisk purred. “Are you sure you don’t want anything?”

          “No, no. I don’t want anything,” the mother rabbit denied and walked up the stairs to the very top-left corner of the room. Frisk followed close behind. Eventually, they got to a hallway. Multiple doors were on either side of the hallway. She led them to the last door to the left. “There you go, kid. One night.”

          “Thank you again!” Frisk purred and puffed out their chest.

          The mother rabbit chuckled and walked back down the hallway. Flowey watched her go. Once they were inside and the door was closed, Flowey smirked. “I didn’t know any monsters would do something for you because you were cute or a kid.”

          Frisk shrugged and set him on the bedside table. “They’re bunnies. Bunnies are really nice.” Once there, Frisk fell asleep as soon as they hit the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep! The Gauntlet does work! Let's give Pap a round of applause!
> 
> Okay enough applause.
> 
> Well, looks like Frisk found themselves a nice treat and a good bed to sleep in. Sleep tight Frisk because things are about to kick off!


	5. Puppy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, it looks like Frisk has made it to Snowdin Town nice and happy!

          Frisk woke up. They yawned and turned onto their side, eyes still closed. It was so warm and the bed was so comfortable. Yet… no one had woken them. Where was Cameline? “Cammie?” Frisk mumbled and sat up. They yawned and rubbed their eyes. A flower bloomed in a boot beside them. There was only one bed, and that was the one they slept on. Even then it was a bit big. The walls were plain. Were they in their parent’s room? A flash of fear bolted through them. “C-Cammie?”

          The flower raised itself so that it was upright. “Frisk? What are going on about?”

          Frisk stared at the flower. Suddenly, the events of the days prior caught up to them. Frisk shook their head. “Oh, it was nothing. A weird dream is all. We should get going.” They got up, made the bed, and stretched.

          Frisk trotted out of the building and through the town. They stopped before the great conifer tree. “Whoa!” they breathed. “This tree is so big and fluffy! It’s like the Christmas trees my family gets for Christmas!”

           “Christmas?” Flowey prompted. “Is that a human holiday?”

          Frisk looked down at him in surprise. “ _What?_ You’ve never had Christmas before?”

          Flowey hesitated. “I… I remember… I think I heard the name somewhere.”

          Chara looked up at the tree. A faint smile spread across their lips. _“Ask him about New Year’s instead.”_

           “Oh. What about New Year’s?” Frisk prompted.

          Flowey perked up. “New Year’s? Oh, yeah. That’s the most major holiday in the Underground. Is Christmas like that?”

          Frisk shook their head. “No. But they’re super close together. What’s the New Year like here?”

           “Well, everyone gets together with family,” Flowey replied. “They bring gifts and often stay home for the entire day of the holiday and sometimes the day prior. It’s a… fun holiday. One of the few days the Underground ever sees anything happy without killing something.”

           “Oh, that sounds beautiful. Christmas is a lot like that. People get together and decorate the house. They buy a big tree like this and decorate it as well. Then we get gifts for each other. No one works on Christmas because everyone’s at home with their families. It’s one of the happiest days of the year to most people where I live,” Frisk explained. “The New Year isn’t as special. Everyone gets together to celebrate the New Year. Traditionally, everyone stays up until midnight. On the final minute of the last day of the year, everyone counts down the seconds until the new year. Then we make a promise. We have to promise to do something that year. That’s a New Year’s Resolution. Do you guys do stuff like that?”

           “Most people stay up until midnight to count down until the New Year. But it sounds more like your Christmas than anything else. Anyway, why are we standing here? I think we should get moving.”

           “Oh, right. We can talk later,” Frisk agreed.

          As they walked, they found that some people _were_ outside. They were just behind or beside buildings so that Frisk and Flowey couldn’t see them from the entrance to the town.

          Frisk stopped beside the burger joint known as “Grillby’s”. “Ooh… it feels pretty warm.” Frisk put their hand on the door. Heat radiated out of the place.

          Flowey glared at the door. “I don’t know. There’s going to be plenty of monsters here…”

           “Well then… all the more reason to go!” Frisk purred. “People are always friendlier after eating.”

           “Riiiiight,” Flowey agreed and then sighed. “I guess I can’t stop you, anyway.”

          Frisk smiled and walked inside. The spacious room was made smaller as many bodies filled the room. The two hooded dogs were sitting beside each other at the table. Although they ate peacefully, they’d shoot glares at each other on occasion. Greater Dog sat beside Lesser Dog, who was barking happily. Ketchup ran down Lesser Dog’s snout as he was currently eating a hamburger. Greater Dog nearly swallowed Lesser Dog’s entire plate of fries whole. Between Greater Dog and Dogeressa, Doggo ate a hamburger. As he couldn’t see it without moving, he had to sniff it out in order to eat it. That led to some ketchup, mayonnaise, and grease dirtying his muzzle.

          Frisk tentatively approached Dogamy. He sniffed the air but didn’t turn toward them. “Beat it, kid.”

          Dogeressa glowered at Dogamy and turned to them. She asked in a sweet, fake voice, “What do you want, kid?” Dogamy rolled his eyes but didn’t retaliate.

           “You’re sentries, right?” Frisk inquired.

           “Yes, we certainly are.”

           “So, you get to go on patrols and stuff?” Excitement returned to Frisk’s voice.

          Dogerressa shook her head. “No. We’re stuck in that same stupid place all day long. The only people allowed to roam about is, well, Papyrus. He doesn’t run the Royal Guard, but he pretends to. The actual leader of the Royal Guard, Captain Undyne? She’s no one to mess with, either. She’s the real one in charge. I wish that damn skeleton would realize that. But of course no one here’s tough enough to defy him. I’ve seen him in action. He’s… not an equal opponent for anyone. Not even my husband and I together.”

           “So, you don’t like them?” Frisk inquired.

           “No one likes those two,” Dogerressa huffed, quickly losing her ‘good mood’. “At least Sans is tolerable. He’s weaker than my husband’s ax handle, and is a snarky little shit, but at least he knows not to talk big like his brother. Papyrus won’t let anyone touch him so he’s basically invincible and he knows it. Doesn’t mean he isn’t weak.”

          Doggo huffed, “Tolerable? He’s more annoying than Lesser Dog!”

          Dogamy ignored Doggo and snickered, “Yeah. Watching them is a blast, though. That little skeleton follows him around like a puppy. If it wasn’t for his snarky attitude, I’d think that he was more obedient and easier to roll over than Lesser Dog, too. Speaking of which…” Dogamy turned to the two playful dogs. They barked at each other and wagged their tails. “Shut it! If you’re not eating, go outside!” The two immediately stopped and started to whine, round eyes on Dogamy.

          Doggo barked, “Ugh! The whining! I rather like them yapping than whining, Dogamy.”

           “I like neither,” Dogamy growled.

          Dogeressa turned to the two whimpering dogs. “Go ahead and get another round- on us.”

           “What?” Dogamy hissed.

           “It’ll shut them up.” Dogerressa shrugged and went back to their meal. Immediately, the two dogs rushed to the counter. A fish and duck leaning on the counter shuffled to the side to allow the two dogs room. The fire monster behind the counter set down his rag and cup and vanished through a wall. He came back with another two servings of burger and fries. The swaying horse on the other end of the counter raised his cup to the two dogs and took another drink. The dogs rushed back to their place.

          Dogamy bared his teeth. “That’s _our_ money, Softheart!

          Dogerressa turned on him with such speed he nearly jumped back. “What did you just call me?”

          Dogamy’s ears lay flat against his head. He leaned away from her and pointed his muzzle away. However, her breath still breathed over his muzzle. Dogamy growled in a low voice, “Softheart. You go way too soft on those dogs. They aren’t your puppies and never- ALP!” Dogamy yelped as Dogerressa snapped down on his muzzle. She ended up throwing him to the ground. Their axes clattered to the wooden floor. She concentrated all of her weight onto her husband so that she could tear him apart. Although he kicked and hit her and attempted to bite, his struggles were weak. It was as if he couldn’t physically hurt her.

          Frisk glanced at the bar. Grillby, sighing, brought out a laser-like stick from under the counter. The rest of dogs backed away. The entire bar was now concentrated on them. Frisk took their plates and slammed them together as hard as they could above the quarreling dogs. The married canines, shocked, paused their fighting. Frisk took off their coat, which caused Flowey to hit the ground under them, and held it between the quarreling dogs so that instead of seeing each other, they only saw red and maroon stripes. The plates clanged against the table. Frisk got between the once quarreling couple. “Stop.” Their voice took a hard command none of them expected them to hold. The Dogi didn’t make a move against them. “I’m going to back away. You will _not_ continue your fight. Understand?” The couple didn’t move. Frisk took a few steps back. If they had the will, the dogs could attack each other again. Yet they did not. They stayed watching Frisk with wide eyes and open mouths.

          Frisk took a deep breath and put on their coat again. Their voice did not waver from the command they’d taken on. “Is this how you treat each other? All I’ve ever heard here is that people _kill_ each other. It’s hard, isn’t it? Living in a world where you don’t have friendly neighbors? Where you clock in and know that you’ll be attacked? If you don’t do your job correctly, you’ll badly punished? Yet you’ve just mauled your husband, Dogerressa! He’s badly hurt. Not to mention you attacked her, Dogamy. Where I come from, couples do everything in their power to make sure their loved one _doesn’t_ get hurt. I don’t want to want to hear any excuses. You’re both in the wrong. Now I want you two to get back to your business. You two will not even bare your teeth at each other. Understand?”

          Dogamy, snout tipped down so that his teeth didn’t accidently show, prompted, “And what do you think you’ll do, Pup?”

          Frisk bristled and took a step toward him. Dogamy shuffled back and whimpered. “I told you so, that’s why! And it’s the right thing to do. Now you both know as well as I that I would never hurt you.” Their voice softened and they got out of their aggressive stance. They picked up Flowey and zipped up their coat again. “I do think the both of you deserve mercy. But your fighting is out of control. By your scars, this isn’t the first time it’s happened. But this will be the last, okay?” Frisk held out a hand. Dogamy recoiled. “Come on. Take my hand. I won’t hurt you.” The dog shut his mouth tight and flattened his ears. However, he still took their hand and accepted their aid in getting up. Frisk let go and turned to Dogerressa. She accepted their help, too. “I’m not going to hurt either of you. I absolutely refuse to do so. You two do have the ability to be kind. I know that you two love each other. So, this is going to be the last time you two ever get in a fight like this, okay? I won’t have to intervene again. Those wounds look pretty nasty. I don’t have healing magic. But I am good at helping people. So, if you need any help, just ask, okay? I’ll be glad to do so.”

          Dogamy’s mechanical voice piped up, “Er, yes, Frisk.”

          Dogerressa gave them a pained smile. “Yes, Puppy. You are quite kind. I will pay forward your kindness. You need only call for our help and we will be there. We’re not good at diplomacy, but we’re good at kicking tail.”

          Frisk giggled. “Thank you! Hopefully no one will need to get hurt, but it’s always great having new friends! Good-bye!” They waved to the dogs and bounded outside. Flowey bundled up deeper into Frisk’s jacket as the cold smacked the two in the face.

          Flowey looked up at them. “Frisk?”

          Frisk stopped. “Yes, Flowey?”

           “What was that? I’ve never seen you act like that before.”

           “Huh? Telling them to stop fighting? Oh! Well, my sister taught me that. We had dogs at our house. Sometimes, dogs will fight. I didn’t mean to come off as aggressive, just assertive. I didn’t want to hurt them. I just want them to know what they did was wrong and hope that they don’t do it again. Does that make sense?”

          Flowey nodded. “Yes. But you… I didn’t know you could talk like that. You’re always so… enthusiastic or quiet.”

          Frisk chuckled, “Yeah! Well, sometimes, you just need to give people a bit of… tough love!”

          Farther down the road, they passed the library and then the large wooden house. Flowey looked up at it. “Well, it’s the biggest house on this street. There’s a creepy shed beside it. And this house gives me bad vibes. So, it probably belongs to someone, or some people, who we don’t like.”

          Frisk nodded. “Maybe. But… um…” They stared down the road. A snowy storm had picked up farther down the road. Although a heavy wind carrying snowflakes swept through the town, the snow in the road out of the city was thicker.

           “Go find a save point again,” Flowey advised. “Then… well… this is something we have to do.”

           “Maybe I can reason with him,” Frisk offered, turned, and walked back to the save point. “I mean, he was happy with the way I solved his puzzles, right? Maybe I can convince him to be… um… not as mean…?”

          Flowey shook his head. “I want to believe you. But… but I don’t. Frisk, this guy is very dangerous. Everyone’s afraid of him! If we’re not careful, we could get killed! Or worse!”

           “I know.” Frisk touched the yellow sparkle. No commentary came in response. “I just… don’t like this.”

           “I don’t either,” Flowey reassured them. “But we can get through this. If we believe in ourselves… and if you can run really fast… we can do anything.”

           “you aren’t thinking of running, are you?” Frisk jumped at turned around. Sans stood behind them, leaning on the inn’s doorway. The door was open a crack so cool air filtered into the warm inn. An unheard complaint came from inside. The word ‘Sans’ dressed it quite well. “not only is that cowardly, and maybe you _think_ it’s smart, but he’ll track you down. he always does.”

           “…yeah…” Flowey replied. “Let’s go, Frisk.”

          The smaller skeleton swept in front of Frisk to effectively cut them off. “hey.”

           “Oh! Hello, Sans!” Frisk smiled. Flowey grimaced. “Um… what are you up to?”

           “not getting killed. you?”

          Flowey mumbled, “Probably going to get killed.”

           “Flowey! Don’t say that!” Frisk scolded. “We’ll be fine. We just have to stay determined!”

           “yeah, yeah. nice.” Sans waved his hand. “so. i’m going to grillby’s. wanna join me?”

          Flowey hissed, “Frisk, no.”

          Frisk nodded. “Flowey, yes.”

           “Frisk no!” Flowey groaned and flopped his head forward.

          Sans smirked and strolled into the diner. “welp. good thing we’re close, huh?”

          Frisk nodded and followed him into the hot building. “At least it’s warm here, Flowey.”

          Flowey grumbled and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

          Sans sat down at the bar and waved for Frisk to join them. The young human immediately sat beside him. They glanced back. The Dogi had sat back up and were now eating another round of food. They were no longer bleeding and were only mildly hurt, now. The other dogs were quiet. When they noticed Frisk had reentered, the married dogs made sure that Frisk saw their smiles. Lesser Dog and Greater Dog showed off their teeth in doggy smiles. The bird who was on the stool next to Frisk and Sans glanced at the human and then back to his fish friend. “so, uh, frisk, right? yeah. fries or burg?”

          Frisk looked down at Flowey. Flowey huffed, “I wouldn’t eat what he gave me if I was _starving._ ”

          Frisk pouted and looked back up at Sans. “Um… sure. French fries. But, uh, I can’t spend anything.”

           “eh. sound’s good. i’ll cover it this time.” Sans raised his hand. “grillby! we’ll have a double order of fries!”

          Soundlessly, the blue fire monster turned and swept into the next room. He came back within moments with two plates of fries.

           “hey! it’s not burned this time! step up, eh?” Sans chuckled.

          Grillby stared at him for the longest time before walking to the drunken horse, who was out of drink.

          Flowey huffed, “See? No manners.”

          Sans went on, “so. i’ve been meaning to ask you: i have just the oddest feeling around you. like, uh, i’m forgetting something. but i have something more pertinent to you: my boss. i have this feeling that you are really not going to have a good time fighting him.”

          Frisk shook their head. “I don’t want to fight Papyrus. I just want to talk to him.”

           “well, i’m not sure you’re going to have a choice, kid,” Sans pointed out. “mustard?”

           “Huh?” Frisk tipped their head.

           “mustard. the condiment. do you want some?”

           “Er, no thanks,” Frisk denied with a short shake of their head.

           “whatever you say,” Sans shrugged, took off the cap, and drank it.

          Flowey bared his teeth in disgust. “What the- are you literally drinking that?”

           “yeah? so?”

          Flowey rolled his eyes. “Why am I surprised?”

          A hand created of blue-red flames hit the fireproof bar table. Grillby’s eyes were censored behind small, rectangular glasses. Sans raised his hands. “hey! what’s that look for? i’m not doing anything wrong!”

          Flowey grinned. “Hey! His coat is super fluffy! Is it fireproof, too?” The bartender shot an odd look at the flower.

          Frisk gasped and pouted. “Flowey! Come on! Wishing bad on other people is horrible.”

          Flowey turned around and looked at Frisk. “Frisk. I love you, but please.”

          Frisk shrugged. “I’m just saying. If you’re mean to someone whose mean, are you not stooping to their level? It’s much better to be nice to people, even to people you hate.”

          Flowey sighed. “Moral of the day. Can we leave?”

          Frisk gasped, “Oh! Right!” They turned back to Sans. “Sorry, what were we talking about?”

           “nothin’ really,” Sans replied and lay his hands on the table again. “but as i was sayin’, you don’t have a chance against my boss. he’s the best, after all.”

           “So… you wanted us here to gloat?” Flowey inquired.

           “pretty much.”

           “Well then we don’t need an adorable little bundle of fluff wasting our time,” Flowey huffed. “We have a fight to get to.”

           “adorable?” Sans’ pupils vanished. Activity around the place came to a slow as the anticipation of a fight with Sans, and inevitably Papyrus, was about to take place.

           “And fluffy,” Flowey cooed. “Oh golly! Your coat makes you look so cute and fluffy.”

          San’s shark-tooth smile turned in a sinister grin. He raised his hand almost as if to prop his head but instead let his fingers brush the furry lining of his jacket. Grillby backed off with a standoffish stare at Sans before meeting the horse. The bird and fish nearby looked at Sans, then Frisk, and then back to each other. The once rowdy dogs started to move their hands to their weapons. “is that right, little flower?”

           “Quite right,” Flowey agreed. “Is that why you roll over for him all the time? Is it because you’re fluffy and adorable and can’t actually fight?” Not one laugh came in agreement.

           “now where would you get an idea like that?” Sans inquired.

          Flowey smirked. “No one needed to tell me, Sans. Just like no one needs to tell me that he’s a skeleton with standards and you’re his lazy lackey.”

          Sans laughed, the little red lights coming back to his eyes. He set his hand back down on the table. “have you been practicing this on frisk because i’m pretty sure no real monster would fall for that.”

           “Are you trying to pretend you’re a real monster, now?” Flowey inquired. San’s fingers clawed into the table and his eyes, completely black, narrowed into slits. All attention was taken away as people stared at their meals in complete silence.

           “what, exactly, are you trying to say?”

          Frisk froze, eyes round. Flowey’s smirk wavered. He glanced about to find that not one soul looked at him much less encouraged him. Chara set their hand on Frisk’s shoulder. _“You should move.”_ Frisk didn’t answer them.

          Flowey straightened and looked at Sans. “You and your stupid brother don’t scare us.”

           “Flowey!” Frisk squeaked. “You’re going to get us killed!”

          Flowey bared his wicked teeth in a sneer. “Yeah? What’s he going to do about it?”

          Sans’ forced smile widened. He gently hovered the fingers of his left hand over his collar. “oh don’t worry, little flower. you won’t have to worry about anything any longer.”

           “What are you talking about?” Flowey’s voice wavered in the slightest.

          _“Frisk. You have to go! Now!”_

           “I-I-I- c-c-can’t,” Frisk squeaked. “C-c-c-c–”

          Chara groaned in exasperation and shoved their hand into Frisks’ chest. A sudden heat flowed through their chilled veins. Frisk’s conscious was pushed aside. Their eyes glowed scarlet. Sans raised an eyebrow. Chara smirked. “Two can play at that game, Sans the Skeleton. Calling on your brother, hmm? Well, thank you. He was just the person we wanted to talk to.” Chara took Sans’ hand and then grabbed his collar in the same one. Sans gasped in surprise as Chara not only grabbed him, but threw him off balance so that he fell to the ground. “I’m sorry Sansy, I truly am. But we have- have to-” Frisk’s eye dulled brown. Chara appeared beside them. _“Grrr- Frisk!”_

           “No!” Frisk snapped, one hand on their head. “I’m not hurting him! I’m not hurting anyone. I told you that!” They knelt and held out their hand for Sans. He stared at them and recoiled from their touch. “It’s okay. I won’t–”

          _CRACK!_

          Frisk jumped back with a yell of fright. A scarlet bone splintered a portion of the counter. Icy air trailed the larger skeleton as he stalked inside. No one dared glance at the royal guardsman as he passed. But once he did, the dogs–all of them–gave him sideways glances and glares. Sans scrambled, wheezing, to his feet. A hand was over his neck. He watched Frisk in absolute disbelief. Papyrus took the sharp-ended bone and wrenched it out of the counter. In his other hand, he held Sans’ coat to make sure that he was standing. “NOW, HUMAN. I THOUGHT THAT _WE_ WERE TAKING _OUR_ FIGHT OUTSIDE.”

          Frisk nodded so quickly they made themselves dizzy. “O-of course! I’m super, super sorry. I d-didn’t mean to hurt him. I-I was just–”

          Flowey poked his head out of their coat. “We were. But then your smiley trashbag brother irritated me. He got what he deserved. Maybe if he wasn’t being bullied and overshadowed by some big ‘royal guardsman’ then we wouldn’t have this problem. Or maybe he was just born a brat. People can be like that. Now, why don’t we settle this like the ‘big and respectful’ people we can be, hmm? Or, sorry, have we all forgotten what that was like?”

           “Fl-Fl-Flowey,” Frisk squeaked. “P-please don’t! I’m r-r-really s-sorry, P-Papyrus! I didn’t m-mean for you o-o-or S-Sans to get h-hurt. I h-honestly d-don’t know wh-what happened. I blanked out for a moment. A-Are you okay?”

          Sans shot a glare at them and stuffed his hands in his jacket. He wouldn’t take his eyes of off Frisk’s brown ones. It was as if he was expecting them to turn a clear scarlet again. Papyrus looked down at his brother and then at the human. “WELL, IT SEEMS AS IF THE HUMAN WISHES TO FIGHT UNFAIRLY. THAT IS ALRIGHT, I SUPPOSE. GO OUTSIDE.” He jerked his brother forward and stalked out. Frisk followed without a single word against them. Before they could completely leave, Papyrus grabbed Flowey by the neck and ripped him out of Frisk’s coat.

           “FLOWEY!” Frisk shrieked and attempted to grab the flower. Flowey was held just out of their reach.

           “THIS WEED WILL NOT NEED TO FOLLOW US.” Papyrus glowered at the flower. Flowey contorted his face and hissed like he had done to Sans. His roots curled up so that they, and his vines crept around his fingers.

          Tears glimmered on Frisks’ cheeks. “No! No! He’s okay! He didn’t do anything! He was just talking. _I_ hurt Sans. It was completely me! Let him go! He can’t go on his own! Please give him back. I swear I will do anything you say!”

           “YOU’LL DO AS I SAY EITHER WAY.”

          _“Frisk! Accept me!”_

           “No!” Frisk barked and glared at Chara before turning to Papyrus. The skeleton threw away the flower so that he landed on the floor. Flowey scrambled to dig his roots in the floor. Without a second of hesitation, Flowey vanished into the ground. Frisk’s look of anger and anguish melted into one of shock and heartbreak. “Flowey?”

          Papyrus grabbed the human by the back of their neck and yanked them up. Frisk gagged and scrambled to hold onto their coat. “IT LOOKS AS IF YOUR FLOWER WON’T BE JOINING US AFTER ALL.”

          Frisk wriggled and choked and eventually slipped out of the coat and hit the floor. Dirt sprayed onto their chest and face. The human sat up with a whimper. Not a second had been wasted before Frisk felt the presence of other bodies around them. They looked up. The Dogi, axes at ready, stood above Frisk. Their hackles were raised and their fur bristled and they snarled with a savagery Frisk had only ever seen once when their dog, Samuel, protected them from an aggressive man with a gun. Greater Dog and Lesser Dog, completely unafraid, stood by them. Doggo growling and holding his weapons tight, stood behind the Dogi.

          Dogerressa hissed, “You will not harm our puppy!”

           “YOUR PUPPY?” Papyrus stated in a flat tone.

          Dogamy growled, “Our puppy. They’re ours. You won’t hurt them!”

          Great Dog snarled and barked in agreement. Lesser Dog yapped and barked.

           “DOGARRESSA, THIS IS A HUMAN, NOT A PUPPY. I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR OWN, BUT THIS HUMAN IS NOT A PUPPY. I AM GIVING YOU THE CHANCE TO BACK DOWN WIHTOUT CONSEQUENCE. ALL OF YOU.”

          Dogarressa snarled, “No! They’re OUR puppy! We won’t let you set a finger on them! Go! Go or we’ll kill you! I swear it!”

          Papyrus let go of Sans. He summoned a scarlet bone and raised it above their heads. The dogs flinched and, for the slightest moment, fear shone in their eyes. Papyrus stated in a slow voice, “YOU WILL BACK DOWN. ALL OF YOU. YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE IN THIS ARREST.”

          Dogerressa snarled, “No! They’re our puppy! We don’t fear you.”

           “Y-you don’t have to,” Frisk whimpered. “You’ll hurt yourselves! Please…”

          Dogamy didn’t look away from Papyrus. “No, Pup. We said we’d defend you. We will- with our lives if we must. You’re right. We don’t hurt the people we love. We protect them. We love you, Pup.”

          Papyrus glowered at them. “I GAVE YOU YOUR WARNING.” He whacked Dogerressa across the head. She yelped and shook her head. Immediately, Dogamy’s ax swung toward him. Papyrus jumped back to avoid them. Greater Dog jumped onto his back and snapped his teeth into his neck. Lesser dog jumped up and bit down on Papyrus’ arm to attempt to drag him down. Bones cracked out of the ground. Greater Dog, injured and in pain, let go of Papyrus. The skeleton thumped his hand against Lesser dog’s forehead. Dogamy’s ax cracked into Papyrus’ chest piece. Though the armor dented, the Royal guardsman didn’t seem to be that affected. Dogerressa left Frisk’s side to combine her power with Dogamy’s. Doggo immediately took her place above Frisk. Sans looked about, eyes round in shock. His brother was being dogpiled- literally. Although Papyrus could fight better than any of them, a monster’s attack and defense weren’t like a human’s. A monster’s attack comes from their intentions and their willingness to inflict damage. A monster’s defense comes from their willingness to fight and live. So, although Papyrus had the will to attack and defend himself, the dogs had a very different fire.

          Greater Dog, injured but snarling with such a ferocity foam flecked his lips, pounced on Papyrus again. His teeth snapped onto the back of his neck and tore into his cape. This time, they were both thrown onto their backs. The struggle continued. Papyrus’ bone attacks became defensive to block any blows from the axes and spears the dogs wielded. Frisk looked to Sans. His eyes grew dark. He raised his hand. Greater Dogs’ soul turned blue and he was jerked into the air. Sans snapped his arm to the left. Greater Dog crashed through a few tables and chairs and cracked into the wall. This surprise was just enough to allow Papyrus to get back up. Greater Dog, whimpering and barking, struggled on the ground. Lesser Dog abandoned Papyrus in an instant to get to his friend. Lesser Dog whimpered and nuzzled the larger dogs’ cheek. He licked his wounds and pushed into him with all his strength to attempt to get him to his feet. Lesser Dog choked and coughed as dust filled his mouth and spread over his paws and the ground beneath him. Dogamy, weakened from the previous battle, was kicked to the ground and stabbed through the heart. Dogerressa whipped her ax around with enough force to snap one of the bone’s in Papyrus’ arm. Her dust mingled with Dogamy’s. Doggo snarled at Sans when he got too near. His soul was turned blue and he was thrown into Lesser Dog. Too injured to stand, both dogs lay beside the wall.

          Papyrus, heaving and snorting, looked about the bar. Not one person looked at him. Frisk watched the place where the lovers had died with round, watering eyes. “Y… y… you _killed_ them. They were just–” Their soul turned blue and they were jerked into the air. The human screamed in panic and waved their hands. “Wh-what? I-I- where’s the ground?! Is it gone?!”

           “I’LL REPLACE THE BAR, GRILLBY. NEXT TIME A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE, DO NOT HESITATE TO INFORM ME.” Papyrus swept out of bar and into the snowy outside. His sharp eyes turned to Frisk. “I HOPE YOU REALIZE THAT THEIR DEATHS WERE YOUR FAULT. THEY WERE LOYAL GUARDS UP UNTIL YOU CONVINCED THEM OTHERWISE. IF THEY HADN’T ATTACKED ME, THEN I WOULD HAVE HAD NO REASON TO PUT THEM DOWN.”

          Frisk curled up into a ball and whimpered. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t… I don’t know… B-but d…” Frisk trailed off. _Don’t hurt Flowey_ was what came to mind. Flowey- the one who’d incited a fight and then left when it occurred. If it wasn’t for him, the dogs wouldn’t have died. Frisk’s teary eyes narrowed. “Kill me. I don’t care.”

          _“Frisk, please. I’m sorry. I overreacted. I just… I got a bit mad, okay? Please let me help you!”_ Chara begged. _“They’re going to hurt you!”_

           “I don’t care,” Frisk growled. “Flowey betrayed me. Flowey, who I love, who is my best friend. He betrayed me. After all he said… I thought he wasn’t like that. I thought he was my friend, that he would help me. That the world wasn’t such a horrible place. I betrayed _her_ for him. I threw away a good life for him.” Tears glimmered in their eyes. “Now they’re dead, too.”

          A door opened and they descended a stair case. The cold didn’t necessarily leave them. However, they were out of the snow. Frisk was roughly thrown into a metal cage that occupied the room. Papyrus let go of Sans and locked the metal door. “WE ARE LEAVING IN THE MORNING.” With that, Papyrus stalked off. Sans glowered at Frisk before following him.

          Chara sat down beside them. _“Frisk! Flowey loves you. You mean a lot to him.”_

          Frisk huffed. “No. I don’t mean anything to him. _Obviously._ If I meant something to him, then he’d find me.”

          _“You do. It’s just- maybe he’s planning on helping you some other way.”_

          Frisk tipped their head back and shouted, “FLOWEY! FLOWEY ARE YOU THERE?!”

          …

          But nobody came.

          Frisk shut their eyes. Hiccups caused their chest to shutter in an odd rhythm. They wrapped their arms around their legs and set their head in their legs. Chara wrapped their arms around Frisk in a hug. _“I’m sorry, Frisk. Flowey means well. It’s just… he’s finding a way to help you. I know it. He’s not a bad guy. He’s a bit scared, and often acts a bit too big, but he’s truly loyal. He’s the best friend–the best brother–someone could have.”_

          Frisk sniffled. “I want my sister back.”

          _“I know. Frisk, we all want something.”_

          The door opened. Shoes carefully tapped the steps and then the floor next to the cage. Frisk didn’t raise their head. Sans, standing a safe distance away from the cage, prompted, “you don’t have magic.”

          Frisk shook their head. “I’m a human. Humans don’t have magic.”

           “then why did your eyes change?” Sans prompted.

           “I… it was a spirit,” Frisk explained. “They, um, got a bit mad.”

           “a spirit took over you?” Sans stated.

          Frisk nodded and looked up. “Y-yeah. They’re a very good spirit, though! They’re very kind and they’ve stayed with me! B-but, um, they have a temper. A-and they don’t like it when people threaten us.” Frisk wrapped their legs more tightly around themselves. “A-and we had a deal. If I needed help, they’d, um, take over and help. Th-they just thought that you would attack me and I seriously don’t have a chance against you.”

           “was that why you were muttering to yourself?” Sans prompted.

           “Yes.” Frisk sighed. “I’m sorry, Sans. I should’ve made them let go sooner. But, um, I was still kind of scared. I’ll really, really try and make sure we don’t strike at you again for goading us. They are very sorry for hurting us and they told me they won’t do it again.”

           “so… this, uh, spirit. i can’t see ‘em. can anyone else?” Sans prompted.

          Frisk shook their head. “Nope. They said that since they don’t have a soul, they can only be seen by one person. When I fell down here, I woke them up. Since we’re both human and both eight, it was super easy for them to bond with me.”

           “you’re _eight?_ ” Sans’ voice had a tone of exasperation and complete surprise.

           “Yeah. But that doesn’t matter. I-I had Flowey and I have Chara. They both helped me a lot since they know more than me. Even though Chara is my age, they moved around a lot and knew a lot of people before she went to sleep. Flowey’s been around a long time, too, and he knows a lot. Since I don’t know anything, I’m really glad I have their help.” Frisk’s smile fell. “But now Flowey’s gone. Chara’s the only one I have.” They glanced to the side to look at Chara, who sat beside them and watched Frisk with brilliant scarlet eyes.

          _“I’m not the only one,”_ Chara insisted.

           “Yes, you are,” Frisk sighed. “Flowey abandoned me. You’re the only one I have- here or the surface.”

          _“I’m sorry you think that way. Flowey loves you. I know he does.”_

          Sans watched them. “is your, uh, spirit talkin’ to you again?”

           “Yeah.” Frisk turned back to him. “They are. They just told me that Flowey still loves me. But he left me. So, I don’t know about that. He promised that he would help me and wouldn’t leave me. He promised it. Chara promised it, too. They’re still with me. Sans. I’m sorry about what Flowey said. Chara was just protecting me but Flowey was being malicious. To be completely honest, you’re really cute and fluffy on the outside, but I was super terrified of you.”

          Sans nodded. “yeah. i, uh, am pretty threatenin’ when i want to be. that little flower’s an idiot. is there any chance your spirit will attack my boss?”

          Frisk hesitated and looked to the side. Chara hesitated. _“I promised that I will always protect you. If he doesn’t do anything drastic, I won’t hurt him.”_

          Frisk turned back to Sans. “As long as he doesn’t do anything drastic, they won’t try and hurt him. They swore to protect me… and I swore that I would bring them all the way to the king’s castle. Once they get there, they can pass through the barrier and be free. They won’t hurt you, either, right? Hehe. I know this is a bit… odd, especially coming from me, but your brother, um, came really quickly didn’t he?”

           “yeah. there’s a thing on my collar that tells him somethin’s up,” Sans replied. “your, uh, spirit friend activated it when they took my hand.”

           “What else does it do?”

           “tracks me,” Sans replied with a shrug. “so, uh, he always knows where i am. it makes it easier to follow me or whatever.”

           “It sounds like he cares about you.”

           “huh?” Sans turned back to her in skepticism and surprise.

           “Yeah. My sister did that for me because she loved me,” Frisk replied. “She put a GPS on my old phone. I never got to use it, but I kept it around on me. She also put a combination on it that calls her. That way she could come to help me if something went wrong. I, um, don’t have it.” They shrugged. “But since yours is around your neck, nothing can happen to it, right?”

           “yeah. nothing,” Sans agreed. “welp, i gotta go. try not to, uh, die. you mean a lot to my boss.”

           “Bye!” Frisk waved their hand. “Thanks for talking to me, Sans. It really means a lot.”

          Sans left.

          Frisk turned to Chara. “Well… um… what next?”

          _“Frisk, if you could go back to before that fight, would you?”_ Chara prompted. _“Before Flowey and I lost our temper?”_

           “Y-yeah. Of course, I would.”

          The spirit sat back and held up two hands on either side of themselves. Both golden, glowing buttons with words on them were shown in crystal clarity to Frisk. “RESET” was written on one. “CONTINUE” was on another. _“RESET will take you back to the flowers. CONTINUE will put you back before that fight. Frisk, do you want to go back to a time before you met Flowey, or to a time before you both got hurt?”_

          Frisk took a deep breath. “Chara, I don’t know if I can forgive him.”

          _“I know. But please. If anyone is to blame: it’s me. It’s not like he could’ve done anything, anyway. I know it feels like he betrayed you. But he didn’t I know that he’s doing something to help you,”_ Chara replied.

          Frisk took a steadying breath. “I… I know. I’m sorry, Chara. I’ll… I don’t want to go back into Grillby’s this time.” They set their hand on the ‘Continue’ button.

          The buttons fizzled out of existence and Chara hugged them. _“Thank you, Frisk.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wouldja look at that? Frisk made some dog friends! Flowey was a rude little weed! Hopefully that'll be resolved soon enough... right?
> 
> EDIT: Hey! I disappointed myself with this so have an alternate chapter! http://venomquill.deviantart.com/art/SPOILERS-Fallen-Under-Snwdn-Alternate-Chapter-5-656322743


	6. Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mmmm Let's see if we can willingly reset and continue without dying, huh?

          Frisk appeared by the shop. Flowey looked about in astonishment. “Huh? What?”

          Frisk tore Flowey out of their jacket and held them out at arm’s length. For the first time in a very long time, Frisk’s eyes were narrowed in a heated glare. Flowey shrank away from their anger. “What were you doing?! Flowey, you attacked Sans! You were goading him into attacking us!” Frisk snapped. “Then, when trouble came, you run away!”

          Flowey bowed his head and sighed. “I’m really sorry, Frisk. I don’t know what got into me. He just… he’s hurting us, Frisk! He’s hurting us and we can’t do anything about it. I can’t help but get frustrated at him, okay? I-I wasn’t running away. I was just trying to find a way to get us out of this situation. It turns out that, um, resetting wasn’t working for me.”

           “You promised that you wouldn’t leave me, Flowey.”

          Flowey winced. “I’m sorry. I know it was wrong. But I tried to help! I was trying to find a way to help you.”

          Frisk took a deep breath. “I know, Flowey. I understand. Let’s just… move past this, alright? Do you promise that no matter how much he annoys you, you will not take the bait?”

           “Frisk…”

           “Promise?”

           “I… yes. I promise,” Flowey sighed.

           “Okay. Let’s head over to Papyrus.” Flowey’s boot went back under Frisk’s coat.

          Flowey shook his head. “This isn’t going to go well.”

           “Don’t say that. M-maybe it will! You don’t know,” Frisk mumbled. The wind picked up as they got farther down the trail. Finally, they weren’t even able to see the trees that flanked them despite just being a few yards away.

          Quite suddenly, they stopped as they nearly ran into the skeleton in which they were to meet. They took a step back and looked up. Papyrus watched them. “HUMAN. YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL OF MY PUZZLES AND HAVE GOTTEN THIS FAR. BUT YOU WILL GO NO FARTHER. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU. THEN I SHALL BECOME THE TRUE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD!”

          Frisk gasped and staggered back. The wind slowed around them and the snow fell. Papyrus was very clearly in front of them. There was no snow that could say otherwise as nothing disturbed the crystal clear air. Frisk’s soul appeared before their chest. Papyrus blocks the way!

          _“Papyrus- Attack 30, Defense 30. HP 1020. Prepared to be the new Captain of the Royal Guard.”_

          “NYEH-HEH-HEH! HUMAN! MAKE YOUR FIRST MOVE!” Papyrus invited.

          _“Frisk- Attack 5, Defense 3. HP 20. Blind. Determined to SAVE monsters.”_

          Frisk stood up straight. “I will not fight you!”

          “SO, YOU WON’T FIGHT ME? WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED? WELL THEN, CAN YOU HANDLE MY FABLED BLUE ATTACK?” Papyrus crowed.

          _“Flowey- Attack 10, Defense 10. 40 HP. Remembers everything.”_

          Flowey looked between them. “What blue attack?”

          “WHY WOULD I TELL YOU WHEN I CAN OBVIOUSLY SHOW YOU?” Papyrus cackled and waved his hands in a grand manner. Scarlet bones poked out of the ground and appeared in the air. Frisk stood still. The red bones phased through them. After about a dozen failed attacks, the bones stopped.

          Flowey opened his eyes. “What the-?”

          Papyrus snapped his fingers. Frisk yelped and fell. Their soul shimmered a brilliant blue. Quite suddenly, a feeling of cold rushed through their chest instead of the comfortable heat they knew so well. They felt heavier. A small white bone popped out of the ground and raced at them.

           “J-jump!” Flowey yelped. Frisk followed his order. Unfortunately, they couldn’t jump as high as they thought and fell just past the bone. The attack was so close it nearly grazed their shoes.

          Papyrus smirked. “YOU’RE BLUE NOW! THAT’S MY ATTACK! NYEH-HEH-HEH!”

           “This is insane,” Flowey wheezed. “What are we going to do?”

          Frisk stood up straight. “The only thing we can do.” They spoke up, “I’m not going to fight you, Papyrus! I refuse!”

           “LET’S SEE HOW LONG THAT LASTS, HUMAN.” Papyrus waved his hand. Bones sprouted from the ground and raced at them. Frisk jumped and staggered and waved their arms to keep balance. The bones were quite tall so it was very hard attempting to jump over them. Flowey smacked one of the bones with his vines and shuttered. The attack dissipated.

           “Don’t hurt yourself, Flowey!” Frisk gasped, “It’s okay! I can do this!”

           “This is way too dangerous, Frisk,” Flowey denied. “We can’t fight him.”

           “I know,” Frisk agreed. “So, I won’t fight him.” They raised their voice again. “Papyrus! It feels like your life, just like the lives of so many others, is going down a dark path. But you don’t have to walk it!”

           “IF THIS IS YOUR ATTEMPT AS SWAYING ME, IT’S QUITE COMICAL,” Papyrus sneered. Again, bones attacked them. This time, the leaped into the air as well. Frisk had to jump as well as duck. In fact, one time, they leaped and then tumbled to the ground in an attempt to dodge it. Unfortunately, this left them open to another bone. Their soul shuttered and a slight crack formed.

          Frisk stood up straight. “I’m not joking. Everyone can be a good person if they tried!”

           “Frisk what are you doing?” Flowey hissed.

          Papyrus narrowed his eyes. “YOUR ATTEMPTS AT ‘MERCY’ ARE PITIFUL, HUMAN.” This time, two bones, one in the air and one in the ground, came quite close to each other. Frisk jumped between them like a hoop and flatten themselves to the ground to keep from getting hit. They staggered to their feet. A smaller bone rushed up behind them. Frisk, taken completely by surprise, was thrown onto their belly. Their soul cracked further.

          The young human got up and put a hand to their head. The hard fall caused their head to hurt and mind to go dizzy. Now they could hardly process anything their eyes gave them. “I-I know that you don’t believe me. That you think this is how it is. But I believe in you, Papyrus! I know that you could be a great person if you just tried!”

          Papyrus smirked. “I’M THE GREAT PAPYRUS! OF COURSE, I CAN BE GREAT AT ANYTHING- ANYTHING BUT FALLING FOR YOUR DUMB CHARADE.” This time, the bones that formed hoops came in doubles so they were a hard jump. The attacks came from both sides. One from the left, one from the right. Then, two hoops approached at the same time- one from the left, one from the right. Frisk jumped straight up. Before they could catch their balance, a red bone sailed toward them. Flowey smacked it with their vine to dissipate it. The flower groaned and lowered his head.

           “Flowey! …no. You can’t help me any longer.” Frisk set Flowey down on the ground near the trees and raced back to their position.

           “Frisk…” Flowey muttered but could do nothing else.

           “It’s not a charade, Papyrus. You can attack me all you want, but I hope you know that I will _never_ stop believing in you, Papyrus. There is a glimmer of a good person inside of you. I can feel it!”

           “YOU ARE DOING YOURSELF NO JUSTICE, HUMAN!” Papyrus barked. “FIGHT ME OR DIE WITHOUT EVEN TRYING!” This barrage of bones was one that Frisk couldn’t dodge if they tried. Although they attempted to run from place to place, it was as if he could predict their every moment. Finally, Frisk was able to jump what they thought was the last bone. Unfortunately, they were mistaken.

           “Frisk!” Flowey yelped.

          They didn’t see the bone fly straight at their head. _THUNK!_ Frisk shuttered and fell to one knee.

          Frisk stood up, grimacing in the pain in their head. Blood dribbled down their cheek. “I will not give up on you, Papyrus.”

           “WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH, HUMAN?” Papyrus snapped. “YOUR TALK DOES YOU NO GOOD!”

           “It’s not talk, Papyrus,” the young human stated in a shaky, slurry voice. “I’m your friend, Papyrus. I swear that I will never hurt you or your brother. Ever.”

          Something flickered in Papyrus’ gaze upon hearing them say “brother”. His stance loosened in the slightest. He quickly shook himself. However, he couldn’t shake away the doubt that now appeared in his words, “YOU CAN’T SAY THAT, HUMAN. ALL YOU WILL FIND HERE IS DEATH! IF YOU FIND A WAY PAST ME, YOU WILL DIE, ANYWAY!”

           “I won’t.” Frisk stood up straight. It took all of their strength to stay on their feet. “I refuse.”

          Papyrus snarled and stood up straight. His cape fluttered in the breeze that had picked up. “HUMAN. YOU… YOU WILL NOT FIGHT BACK, WILL YOU?” he asked in a growl.

           “Flowey and I refuse to fight,” Frisk agreed.

          Papyrus huffed, “IT IS CLEAR TO ME NOW, HUMAN. YOU ARE CLEARLY UNABLE TO DEFEAT ME.”

           “We won’t,” Frisk agreed. A small smile spread across their lips. Flowey perked up.

           “THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL CAPTURE YOU!” Before Frisk could speak, a bone shot out of the ground and hit them in the head with a hard _thunk._

 

          There was no pain. That was the first thing that Frisk noticed. They opened their eyes. The second thing that Frisk noticed was that they were in their bedroom… and they could see it with a clarity Frisk had never even dreamed was possible. Their little room was very cozy. There was a large bed to one side for Frisk and their two siblings to share. Toys were scattered about the room. A currently unused toy chest was at the foot of their bed. Their closet, holding all of their clothes and shoes, was beside their bed- just on the other side of their bedside table, which had a lamp. Frisk looked about at all the pictures their siblings had made- and that Frisk had attempted to create. Frisk’s were too scribbly and all over the place to know what they were. Others were pictures of their house, parents, dog, scenes of their lives. The photos were blurred like the vision they had when they were conscious.

          A noise outside disturbed Frisk. They gently set down the photo and ran to the window at the foot of their bed. Snowflakes danced around outside. Almost a foot of it covered the entire ground in a blanket of white. Two young girls, one fifteen and another five, raced about the outside. A man and a woman sat under an overhang that shadowed their porch. They laughed and giggled at each other’s jokes and their children’s antics. Again, they couldn’t see any of this with clear eyes. It was as if this room was just a small bubble of exist that they could process. Everything else was unclear.

          Frisk gasped and raced to the door. Even though they weren’t wearing winter clothes–they just had their striped shirt and pants–Frisk didn’t shiver in the cold. They nearly took a step outside when a soft voice sounded behind them, _“Are you leaving so soon?”_ Frisk recognized that voice. That was Chara’s voice.

          Frisk turned around to see a kid behind them. They looked so alike they could’ve been twins. Their shoulder-length brunette hair hung around their shoulders. Chara’s hair was a bit fluffier than Frisk’s bone-straight hair. Their red and black striped shirt mimicked the red-and-black coat Frisk had been wearing. Their eyes, however, were different. They were a brilliant scarlet. They expressed no emotion whatsoever. “Are you Chara?”

          _“Yes.”_ Chara nodded. Their voice was devoid of emotion. _“Toriel and Asgore’s child. Asriel’s sibling. You look like me, don’t you?”_

          _“Yeah. We do look pretty similar,”_ Frisk chuckled and then tipped their head. _“Why am I here?”_

          Chara held up both hands. Two golden squares hovered about them. The word _“Reset”_ hovered above their right hand. The word _“Continue”_ hovered above the left. _“You’re almost dead, Frisk. You have 1 HP, but you are very weak and close to losing that.”_

          _“1 HP?”_ Frisk questioned.

          Chara nodded. _“HP measures your health. 1 is the lowest number you go to before dying. But sometimes… sometimes someone with enough determination to live can dip below, if for but a while. HP also stands for Hope; people with more Hope have higher ‘HP’. You have two choices. You can Reset-”_ The reset button over Chara’s right hand glowed for a second before fading. _“-or Continue.”_ The continue button over Chara’s left hand glowed and then dimmed again. _“Or, of course, you could choose a third option and walk out that door and die permanently”_

           “What do those mean?” Frisk prompted.

          Chara looked at the continue button. _“You’ve already used this choice but didn’t know. This means that, if you die, you can go back to an old save point. Those are the yellow lights you keep finding. Those are the only points that I can physically interact with you. That warm feeling? That feeling of strong emotion? The feeling that you can do anything? That’s me, Chara.”_ Chara turned their head to look at the reset button. _“This button will take you back to the beginning. Sometimes, it depends on where you go. But for me… I started off before I fell. So, for you… if you reset, you’ll end up in the woods just before the cave. You will retain all of these memories. So, you can stop yourself from falling and find a new fate.”_

           “What happens if I don’t fall?” Frisk inquired. “Can I still save and go back in time?”

          Chara shook their head. _“You could but… but Flowey has that power, too. Since he lives in a place of magic, his resets will override yours. So, unless Flowey dies and stays dead, you cannot do it.”_

           “…what will happen to everyone else?”

          _“Most will forget that you exist. They’ll forget everything about you. They’ll forget what you’ve done, what you’ve said, what you are- all but two people, excluding yourself. Sans is a scientist, time traveler, and overall a very… unique monster. He knows resets, can detect them, and knows where they come from. He retains small bits of memories of times before the reset. However, he cannot control them. Flowey, since he can control resets, will remember them with crystal clarity. So, if you reset and fail to fall, Flowey will remember you and remember that you willingly abandoned him. Sans will remember that a human was killed. Perhaps not your exact details, but enough to remember you and what you did.”_

           “So… so Toriel won’t suffer? Papyrus won’t kill me? But Flowey won’t forget me?”

          _“Yes.”_

           “If I continue, will I die?”

          _“No. You will return to 1 HP. But you will be at their complete mercy. You have caught a cold, meaning that you are now sick. You have a large headache, dizziness, and inability to use any type of sight whatsoever. Those symptoms will leave after a time of rest and recovery. The cold will leave you if given proper treatment. If they fail to give you proper treatment, you will die. But you will not go back to your last save point. You will go back to where you will wake up now- captured by the skeletons. That is your new save point.”_ Chara explained. Her voice did not waver in the least or show even the tiniest bit of emotion. _“If you reset but want to go back underground, you cannot go back to your last save point. You will have to start all over again. But Sans will be less merciful and less coy. Your journey will be infinitely harder and more painful. Flowey will be forgiving. He will be grateful that you came back and understanding of the situation. He always was patient and forgiving of those whom he has grown attached to.”_

          Frisk looked back at their sisters playing in the yard. Then their gaze turned to Chara. “How do I choose?”

          _“Touch the button,”_ Chara informed them. _“You cannot choose both and you cannot go back on your decision. Understand? This is the first, and last, time you will be able to reset back to the forest. If you choose continue, every reset will start on the golden bed of flowers after your fall.”_

          Frisk took a deep breath and nodded. “I understand. Thank you, Chara.” They set their hand on the continue button. It glowed under their hand. A chill smacked into them so suddenly it nearly caused them to gasp and take a step back. It was as if the cold outside had gotten through some sort of barrier around Frisk and bit into their thin clothes.

          A slight smile broke over Chara’s mouth. _“Good choice. Thank you. Please make Flowey happy for me, will you?”_

          Frisk nodded. “I will. Please stay with me.”

          _“I will.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frisk can now Reset and Continue! Yay! But... is it really them who has that power or the one holding the buttons...?


	7. Chained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "YOU'RE TOO WEAK!! I WAS EASILY ABLE TO CAPTURE YOU!! I WILL NOW SEND YOU TO THE CAPTURE ZONE!! OR, AS SANS CALLS IT, OUR GARAGE??? YOU'RE IN THE DOGHOUSE NOW! NYEH-HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH!!!" ~Papyrus when you get to 1 HP in Undertale
> 
> Missed opportunity, I know. Oh well, what's done is done and now Frisk is captured.

          Frisk opened their cloudy brown eyes. Their eyes gave them nothing. Frisk opened their eyes wide and looked about. They couldn’t see anything. Blackness consumed their vision. They couldn’t see. They couldn’t even see smudges of color with no shape or form. They were finally completely blind. They sat up with a heavy groan. Something metal chinked over the metal ground they sat upon and tapped their clothes. Frisk rubbed their neck and hesitated. Their coat was gone. More than that? They now wore a collar. It was dark red with small silver spikes. It was quite similar to the one Sans wore save for the fact the spikes on his were gold. A yellow chain attached the collar to a latch somewhere under the cart. Flowey’s gasp brought them back to reality. “Frisk! You’re still alive! Thank goodness. I thought… I thought you were seriously dead!”

          Frisk turned toward the noise but of course didn’t see anything. “Y-yeah? Yeah I’m al- oh God.” Frisk put their hand over their mouth and curled up into a ball.

           “Are you alright? What’s wrong? Does your head hurt? Are you sick?” Flowey spoke so quickly that Frisk couldn’t even understand them.

          Frisk slowly nodded. The splitting headache and horrible nausea they had wouldn’t allow for any sudden movements. They took a few deep breaths. “Sick. Feel sick.” They put their hand over their mouth again and screwed shut their eyes.

           “sick?” a very familiar voice nearby scoffed. “wow. you’re much weaker than any humans i’ve ever heard about.” Flowey hissed. Sans hissed back, “back off, little flower!”

          Frisk opened their eyes again. After taking a few breaths, they wheezed, “Bread? You have br-bread? O-or bucket?”

           “nah. we don’t really eat bread,” Sans replied with a shrug. “not the bread eating types, to be honest. but, ah… i think we do have a bucket or somethin’. i’m not fetching it, though. i’m staying here.”

          Flowey scoffed, “Do you want vomit everywhere? They’re sick, numbskull!”

           “yeah? so?” Sans prompted. “doesn’t matter to me. they’ll be gone soon, right?”

          Frisk slowly shook their head. To took a few deep breaths. “I-I just f-feel sick. R-really.”

           “complaining won’t do you any good, princess.”

          Frisk shivered as a slight breeze from outside reminded them of their chilliness. “C-can I have my coat back?”

           “i don’t know. you’re going to have to ask the boss,” Sans huffed.

           “Can I have Flowey back?”

           “no. what do you think i am? stupid?” The smaller skeleton scoffed. “no i’m not letting you have your toy back.”

           “Is that a question?” Flowey put in snidely.

           “…”

           “Flowey!” Frisk complained. “Please! D-don’t be m-mean! J-just because h-he is d-doesn’t m-mean that y-you have to be!”

           “You’re literally _dying_ , Frisk!” Flowey complained. “And you’re _still_ defending him?”

          Frisk nodded. “Yes. I am. I-It’s n-not right t-to- to-!” They attempted to hold a hand to their mouth but failed. The candy they ate earlier, heavily mixed with stomach acid, was heaved out of their stomach. Sans took a few steps back to avoid getting sick on them. Frisk wheezed and coughed and gripped their neck and chest. God that thing around their neck was constricting! When they were finally able to level out their breathing enough to talk, they wheezed, “Are you trying to choke me?”

           “nope,” Sans answered. “you need to be alive remember? but I can if you want.”

          Before Frisk could respond to his snide comment, sans picked up part of the yellow chain and tugged them back. Frisk wheezed and fell back. Immediately, they grabbed at the thing that now choked them and attempted to pull it away. Sans laughed at the human’s feeble struggles. Eventually, when Frisk got to the end of the cage, Sans let go. Frisk sat back up, wheezing and gasping for air. Their dizziness caused them to feel the world rock under them. When was the last time they were that sick? Frisk couldn’t remember a time when they got _that_ sick.

          Frisk thought for a moment and then reached through the bars of their cage. Their back was pressed up against bars that were flush with the wall. To their right, they could feel something. Their hand fell onto something _very_ soft. It was almost as if their old puppy, full of fuzz, had come back and sat quietly beside her.

          The fluffy thing jerked out of their gripped. “that’s me your touchin’ kid.”

          Frisk retracted their arm as if burned. “I didn’t know that. I’m sorry. You’re very fluffy.”

          Sans growled, “i’m not _fluffy._ my jacket’s just furry.”

          Flowey chuckled, “Now that you mention it, you _are_ fluffy! So, that’s why I was never afraid of you. You’re so tiny and fluffy and cute!”

           “i’m not cute!” Sans barked.

           “You’re so indignant,” Flowey laughed. “Aw! You’re like little doggy. Bark, doggy!”

           “i wouldn’t be speaking if i were you, _flower._ ”

           “At least I don’t pretend to be threatening, cutie.”

           “Flowey!” Frisk huffed and then smiled. “I don’t _see_ what you mean! He’s very threatening!”

          Flowey chuckled. “I have to _hand_ it to you, Frisk. He has some teeth!”

           “would you two shut up?” Sans snarled.

          Flowey clucked his tongue. “Man, you have a really _short_ temper, don’t you?”

          Frisk giggled. “Oh, Flowey! That was really _cold!_ ”

          Flowey laughed back. “I don’t _snow_ what you’re talking about.”

           “har, har,” Sans growled. “laugh it up. you won’t be laughing soon enough.”

          Flowey tipped his head and stuck his tongue out with a cute wink. “Don’t be so angry, Sans! We’re just playing. You’ve really given us a _small_ amount of things to do, you know. Oh, look at you! All fluffed up and indignant! You’re pretty cute!”

          Sans snarled at the flower, “shut up!”

          Frisk’s smile dissipated. “Flowey, I think we’ve gone far enough.”

           “What do you mean?” the flower inquired. “You’re not feeling bad for this smiley trash bag are you?”

           “I think you’ve gone far enough,” Frisk replied. “He’s really not happy.”

           “Frisk, do you even know where you are?” Flowey prompted. “He and his brother have trapped us _both_ down here. They’re both going to send us to the castle to be killed!”

          Frisk nodded. “I know. But they’re just doing their jobs. Sans is just following orders and it’s not like he _means_ to be like he is. That’s like teasing you for being a flower. You don’t _mean_ to be a flower. I don’t mean to be blind.”

           “Sans did tease me about being a flower, you know,” Flowey pointed out.

           “Well… yes… but…”

           “Come on, Frisk. It’s not like he has the backbone to attack us- or the power. I hear you’re pretty weak, Sans,” Flowey sneered. “No one else fears you, huh? They just fear your ‘boss’. You don’t even call him brother, do you? How sad.” The memory of Greater Dog flashed through their mind. Sans had picked up the dog with telekinesis and threw him across the bar with such strength that the dog destroyed a third of the place and died.

           “i am _not!_ ” Sans barked. “i’m not weak!”

           “Prove it!” Flowey sneered. “Bet you can’t hurt me from all the way over there!”

           “No! Flowey! Don’t antagonize him!” Frisk pleaded. “We don’t want another fight!”

          Something red glowed in Sans’ hand and he whipped around to face the flower. Quite suddenly, however, the red bone vanished. Sans stood up straight and forced a sneer. “you really think i’d be stupid enough to do that? you really _are_ an idiot.”

          Frisk sat up straight. Sans’ back was to them _and_ he was close. They could easily touch his jacket… or that collar he wore. Frisk set a hand on their neck. Were they similar? Flowey chuckled, “Of course! Why do you think I was goading you, cutie?”

          Sans growled, “shut up before i make you.”

          Flowey laughed. “Oh whatever! Like you’re going to do anything about it.”

          Frisk reached forward and set their hands on Sans’ jacket. The fur on it became bushier and fluffier as Sans puffed up to make himself look bigger, though he only managed to make his jacket fluffier.

           “Aw! You’re blushing!” Flowey cooed. “How adorable!”

          Frisk’s fingers tangled into the fur.

           “god dammit, flower! shut up before i _make_ you!”

           “Make me! Bet you can’t, weak little cutie.”

          Sans took a step forward. Frisk jumped and tensed. The skeleton yelped as if electrocuted and whipped around. Frisk’s grasp was immediately lost. The infuriated skeleton snarled and shoved Frisk back. It didn’t do much. The force he put behind his hand wasn’t nearly the force he could’ve put behind it. However, that wasn’t the real effect. Frisk’s chest turned cold as their soul turned blue. Sans shoved them back. The young human gagged as they rapidly reached the end of their chain. Their knees and hands hit the hard metal bars of the end of the cage, but the collar they wore nearly snapped their neck. “stop _fucking_ messing with me!”

          Frisk was yanked back so that they were in the center of the cage and thrown upwards. Frisk gasped as the wind was knocked out of them and their headache came back in earnest. Dizzy and in pain, Frisk struggled and whimpered. Tears began to form on their cheeks. Sans let go. Their soul turned red. Their chest warmed up again. Frisk hit the metal floor very hard. “O-okay,” they whimpered and shakily sat up. They sniffled and rubbed away the tears from their eyes. Unfortunately, new ones replaced the old.

          Sans turned back to Flowey. “you, too, weed.”

          Flowey didn’t react to Sans. He just watched his suffering friend with round eyes and an open mouth. “A-are you okay?” the flower inquired, voice shaky and high-pitched in fear.

          Frisk forced themselves to nod. “Y-yeah. I… I could feel better. I-I don’t feel like throwing up again.” However, that meant that since nothing was in their stomach and the nausea passed, they were hungry again. “Kind of miss the candy I’d eaten earlier. Haha… I’m a sucker for candy. I wish I had that cinnabunny.”

          Flowey forced a chuckle. “Y-yeah. You worked really hard for that, didn’t you?”

          Frisk smiled and nodded. “You were really mad at me. Hah. Thanks for helping me. You’re really good at that game.”

           “Only because I have vines,” Flowey chuckled. “No need to thank me. I’m your friend. Friends are together, right? God. This is big mess, isn’t it? I kind of wish we could just… start over. Reset our adventure. Maybe we could have just stayed where we were.” His voice became morose.

          Frisk frowned. “I know. I loved her, too. But there’s no use thinking about that kind of stuff, right? What’s done is done. You can’t go back in time and fix everything. That would just make it unfair.”

           “…Frisk. You were really still and quiet after you got knocked out,” Flowey pointed out. “Were you… dreaming or something?”

          Frisk nodded. “Yeah. I was dreaming about my sisters running around in the snow. They were playing a game of chase or a snow fight or something. I’d kind of forgotten that we were in the snow! Right here! Haha… too bad I didn’t get to say hello. I woke up before I could. I think I forgot I was dreaming because I wasn’t cold. I was just… warm, like in my pajamas back by the fire where we roasted marshmallows and drank hot chocolate.” Unknown to Frisk, Sans’ anger had slowly diminished. Interest, and even the slightest bit of guilt, now replaced his indignant fury. “But then I got cold again.”

           “Frisk… you’re looking really bad. Are you sure you’re okay?”

           “I’m just a bit sick. I’m alright,” Frisk replied. “Really. I’ve been sick before. I guess I should have listened to mom, right? ‘Put on a coat or you’ll catch a cold!’ Haha.”

          Flowey laughed. “Mom told me that, too! ‘You might be fuzzy, but you still need a coat or you’ll catch a cold!’ Hehe. Seriously. You need a coat.”

          Frisk rubbed their head. “I-I know that. But I don’t have one, remember?” They hesitated and then leaned on the cage bars. Sans was quite close. Again, he was within arm’s reach. “H-hey. Sans?”

          The skeleton turned to look at them “yeah?”

           “I’m sorry for teasing you.”

           “uh-huh. you’re just saying that because i hurt you.”

           “No. I really am sorry. I don’t like upsetting people. And… I know that Flowey was being a bit rude earlier. But that’s only because he was hurt by what you said. So, if you stopped saying mean things to each other, then neither of you would get hurt!” Frisk smiled at the end of her speech.

           “cute. you are so oblivious to the world around you, huh?”

           “I’m not.” Frisk shook their head. “When I fell down here, I was really confused. I was scared. Then, Flowey helped me. Toriel helped me. Although the monsters around me showed meanness, I knew that they didn’t mean it. They were scared and hurt. I know that someday, everyone will start to get along. I believe that everyone has good in them, even if they don’t realize it.” Before Sans could make a snarky retort, Frisk wrapped their arms around them from inside of the cage and pulled him in for a hug. Sans gasped in surprise but didn’t move. The fluff of his jacket brushed against their cold fingers. However, though the jacket itself was quite poofy, they could still feel the bones underneath and his skull, which was, oddly enough, not cold.

           “what the hell?” Sans pushed them away and took a few steps back. “what the hell was that?!”

          Frisk sat back and stared at him, though both of them knew any of Sans’ body language, or gestures, would be lost on them. “I hugged you. I hope you know what that is.”

           “y- i mean _why?_ are you deaf or somethin’? i told you _not_ to touch me.” Sans’ confused words turned back into a growl. Perhaps that was the emotion he liked the best in a situation in which he couldn’t process or in which he was uncomfortable in.

           “Okay.” Frisk shrugged. “But… I didn’t mean to hurt you. Did I?”

           “no. just don’t do it again, brat,” Sans muttered and turned away from them again.

          Frisk looked up at Flowey and waved. “Well, good-night.” They scooted back enough so that they could lay down. They didn’t have a blanket or a pillow. So, they had to use their arm instead. Upon doing so, they touched their arm to their forehead. They were quite warm. Yet they felt cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooh someone is unhappy. Poor Frisk. It sucks being sick. :(


	8. Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look what we have here. A sick day! Being sick sucks. Oh well; at least they're with the best! ...right? No? Yes. Definitely. ...no? No I right the first time. ...right?

          “WELL? ARE YOU GOING TO WAKE THEM OR NOT? …WERE YOU _SLEEPING?!_ _”_ Papyrus’s bark came from the doorway as it opened.

           “no, boss. i wasn’t sleeping. are we taking the whole cage or…?”

           “WE CAN’T LUG THAT THING ALL THE WAY TO THE CASTLE! WE’RE WALKING.”

          Frisk raised their head and opened their blurry eyes. The door to their cage opened. The chain that tied them to the cage was stuffed through the metal bars and thrown out the door so that Sans could hold it. “come on. we don’t have all day.”

          Frisk carefully got up and got to the end of the cage. When they encountered the open door, they sat down and scooted off the metal floor of the cage. The floor of the basement was just a few feet down. Papyrus presented them with their coat. “YOU’RE USELESS IF YOU DIE OF THE COLD. PUT THIS BACK ON. SANS, PICK UP THE FLOWER, TOO.” Frisk immediately put on the coat with a small “Thank you!”

           “er- sure thing, boss.” Sans strode to the other side of the room and plucked Flowey out of the glass cage.

          Frisk held out their hands. “Can I have him back, please?”

          Sans looked Papyrus. “…YES.”

          Flowey was put in Frisk’s arms. They squeaked happily and put Flowey inside their jacket. “Hello, Flowey!”

          Flowey smiled and looked up at her. “Oh I am _so_ glad I’m back with you and not in that stupid glass vase or whatever that is.”

           “YES, YES. THAT’S GREAT. LET’S GET A MOVE ON.” Papyrus trotted upstairs and out into the frosty morning. “FOLLOW ME, HUMAN. DO NOT MOVE AN INCH OUT OF PLACE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

           “Yes, sir. I do,” Frisk answered with a short nod. “But, um, you walk really fast. What if I trip?”

           “THEN GET BACK UP AGAIN. UGH. DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU? KEEP. MOVING. IF YOU FALL, GET BACK UP.” Papyrus answered in a terse voice.

           “I’ll tell you if there’s something in the road,” Flowey reassured them.

          Frisk smiled. “Thank you, Flowey. You’re a really good friend.”

           “do i have to listen to your gooey friendship shit or will you shut up sometime soon?” Sans asked in a scathing tone of voice.

          Frisk didn’t look back. “We’re just talking. By the sound of it, we’re probably going to be walking for a while. Plus, can we even do anything else?”

          Flowey smiled and replied in a sweet, innocent tone of voice, “Yeah. I mean, we’re not really doing anything wrong. Plus, I’m their seeing-eye flower.”

          Frisk nodded and about answered but cut themselves off with a sneeze.

           “Bless you!” Flowey’s reply was immediate. “Are you feeling any worse?”

           “I’m fine, really,” Frisk reassured him. “Must’ve, uh, gotten dust on my coat or something. I’m perfectly okay.” The head-ache that threatened the edge of their mind contradicted this statement.

          Frisk didn’t seem to sneeze any time through their travel through Snowdin. Their voice was still light-hearted and their step light. However, there came a point in time very soon after leaving Snowdin where they were forced to cross a river. Papyrus stepped through with ease, even dodging rocks that slid through the waterfall. Sans didn’t mind having water rush past him almost as high as his waist. Frisk, on the other hand, gasped in the coolness of the water and stumbled quite frequently in the force of not only the water, but rocks that came from the waterfall. Unfortunately, after getting out of the water, their pants were soaked and they were cold.

          Soon after leaving the waterfall, they waded through a small patch of very tall grass in a thinner hallway. An armored monster stood at the top, one bright eye flashing as she looked down upon the traveling group. Her eye followed the human, though she’d occasionally look at Papyrus. Frisk sneezed and shivered.

          The next puzzle they encountered involved throwing bridge seeds into the water. After all four seeds aligned, they’d bloom and create a bridge. Papyrus solved this puzzle very easily and they were able to proceed almost without hindrance.

          As they traveled the winding, wet tunnels, Frisk began to shiver and sneeze more often. Their nose was runny and their head was fuzzy. They could hardly think, much less walk in a straight line.

           “Frisk, you’re not okay. We have to stop,” Flowey decided.

           “IF YOU HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN, WE _NEED_ TO GET TO THE KING’S CASTLE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE,” Papyrus denied.

           “Frisk is sick! Humans do that!” Flowey pointed out. “Humans can also die of stuff like colds. Come on. You said that you didn’t want them to die before reaching the castle. If they go on any longer without any type of treatment or rest, they’re going to die.”

           “Flowey, please. It- it’s nothing,” Frisk sniffled. “I can keep going for a little while longer.”

           “Don’t agree with him!” Flowey snapped.

          Frisk recoiled. “F-Flowey, I wasn’t agreeing with anybody. I’m okay to walk. It’s just a cold. Really. You don’t have to- to worry over me.” They sneezed again.

           “you heard them. they’re fine,” Sans huffed and waved his hand. In doing so, the yellow chain that was latched to the collar Frisk wore shuttered.

          Flowey growled and glared ahead. “Fine. But if they get any worse, we’re _stopping._ ”

           “I’ll be okay, Flowey. Thank you for your concern.” Frisk mumbled and coughed.

          Unfortunately, Frisk was not correct. The longer they tread through the humid tunnels, often having to wade through water, the sicker they got. Finally, coughing heavily, Frisk staggered to a stop. “C-can’t we sit down f-for a little while?”

          Sans pushed them forward. “we’re almost out of waterfall. you can make it.”

           “WE _ARE_ ALMOST OUT OF WATERFALL. WE CANNOT STOP, NOW,” Papyrus stated in a brisk tone.

          Flowey growled, “No! We’re stopping! That’s final!”

          Papyrus spun around so quickly that Flowey gasped and leaned back in surprise. “ARE YOU… TRYING TO ORDER ME AROUND, _WEED?_ ”

          Flowey straightened himself out and glowered at Papyrus. “Yes. Frisk is sick. We have to stop. We _will_ stop for them.”

           “WE’RE NOT.” Papyrus turned around and continued forward. “THAT’S FINAL. NOW HURRY UP BEFORE I MAKE YOU.”

          Flowey hissed at him. Frisk forced themselves to move forward. Unfortunately, they could only make it a few feet before they tripped over their own feet. Frisk landed heavily on their side with a pitiful groan. Flowey raised his head. “F-Frisk! Frisk, can you hear me?”

          Frisk gave a weak cough in return. They attempted to get to their feet. However, their arms, sapped of strength, refused to even push the muddy earth they lay upon.

           “We’re stopping, now,” Flowey growled and glared up at him. “They can’t move any farther. So now we _have_ to stop.”

          Papyrus shook his head. “IF I’VE TOLD YOU ONCE, I’VE TOLD YOU A HUNDRED TIMES: WE’RE NOT STOPPING.” Papyrus gently picked Frisk up and continued walking.

          Flowey groaned and set his head on Frisk’s heated cheek. “Psst… Frisk… I don’t like this plan anymore. I… I… I can’t do this without you. We were supposed to do this together! I don’t want to lose you… I don’t to lose another one… please… please wake up, Chara…. Wake up…”

          Frisk didn’t answer. Their breath began to become shallower and shallower. Flowey whimpered and began to cry. They could feel Chara’s presence beside them. They could feel Chara’s pain. They could feel… they could feel… they could… they… they couldn’t.

 

          Frisk woke up again, shivering in the cold. “Frisk!” Flowey gasped. “You’re awake! Finally. I thought you were gone. Don’t leave me again!”

          Frisk sat up and winced. They were sore. They currently lay on the metal ground of the cage in Papyrus’ and Sans’ basement. Sans glanced at them but gave no further notice. The young human sighed. Chara was right; they were stuck here. Frisk attempted to talk to Sans again. They even attempted to make him smile, or have a genuine smile as he had a permanent grin on his face, or hug him. He ended up turning their soul blue and throwing them across the cage again. They didn’t get a blanket that night, either. When they woke the next morning, they got Flowey and their coat and went off. They began to show violent symptoms of illness more quickly this time. They died three quarters of the way through Waterfall.

          The next time was like the last. The skeletons had no idea what was going on when it came to Frisk dying. Sans seemed to have some recognition of walking through Waterfall with them. However, instead of assuming Frisk was dying, he grew colder and harsher as he assumed they were playing with him. By the sixth time that they died, they’d only gotten just past the bridge seeds.

 

          Flowey groaned as Frisk woke up in the cage- _again._ “Can’t we just- look, how about you just humor them and give them a blanket and some medicine?”

           “does it look like i care?” Sans snapped. “maybe if i didn’t have that odd feeling of déjà vu every time i look at your stupid faces here, i’d be more willing to help.”

           “That’s not Frisk’s fault!”

           “bullshit.”

           “Ugh! They’re going to _die_ if you don’t at least give them something to eat!”

           “i’m sure that they’re not going to die if they miss dinner.”

           “You are not helpful.” Flowey growled. “Fine. What about Papyrus?”

           “the boss isn’t here. nice try, though.”

          Flowey narrowed his eyes. A wide, fanged smile spread across his features and his eyes became dark as void with little pinpricks of light once again. “Fine. Let’s see about that. HEY! THE GREAT PAPYRUS! SANS IS TRYING TO KILL FRISK!”

          Sans jumped as if shocked.

          The door immediately opened. “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? SANS?!”

          Sans shrank back and pressed himself against the wall. “th-the flower’s just trying to stir up trouble, boss. nothing much.”

           “Yeah, right,” Flowey growled. His expression turned back to his normal self. He turned to Papyrus. “Frisk is dying of a cold and Sans refuses to even give them a blanket. See? Frisk even threw up!”

          Papyrus glanced at the place where Frisk had gotten sick–as Frisk had to endure this every time they went back in time–and then at Sans. “ARE YOU REALLY _TRYING_ TO BE INCOMPETANT NOW?”

           “n-no, boss. that flower’s trying to trick us. That human isn’t dying, boss. the flower’s just being overdramatic. there’s nothing wrong, boss, really.” Sans’ voice was much quieter than usual and he didn’t look Papyrus in the eyes. Guilt prickled at Frisk’s heart. They couldn’t see Sans practically shaking in his boots, but they could hear his very obvious fear.

          Papyrus approached Frisk. Sans winced and bowed his head further as Papyrus had to stand next to him to be near Frisk. Papyrus set his hand on their head. “SANS, ARE HUMANS SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WARM?”

           “n-no.”

           “ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO VOMIT FOR NO REASON?”

           “no.”

           “THEN WHY, SANS, DO YOU SAY THAT THIS HUMAN IS HEALTHY WHEN THEY’RE VERY OBVIOUSLY SICK?”

           “h-humans are st-sturdy, right, boss?”

           “STURDY,” Papyrus scoffed. “THIS HUMAN NEEDS A FLOWER TO EVEN WALK PROPERLY! GO FETCH A BLANKET AND… HUMAN? WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU GET SICK?”

          Frisk answered in a mumble, “Sleep, eat soup, and stay warm.”

           “WELL YOU CAN’T SLEEP HERE, THEN. SANS: GO GET THEM SOUP. FLOWER! WHAT DO YOU DO?”

           “Make sure they’re okay. You have to sit with them all the time,” Flowey encouraged. “But I’ll do that. And… and you have to encourage them to get better. If they get really sick, you give them bread. They can’t move too much, or they’ll just get weaker.”

          Frisk piped up, “You took care of a sick person?”

           “Yeah. My d- friend’s dad got really, _really_ sick one time. He nearly… nearly died. But since we took really good care of him he got better,” Flowey replied with a bright smile.

          Papyrus opened the cage, then. “GOOD. WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING HERE?” Papyrus snapped. Sans jumped and raced out of the basement. “COME HERE, HUMAN.”

          Frisk shakily got up and staggered to the end of cage. Papyrus picked them up, took Flowey out of his cage, and walked outside. For a few moments, snow bit into their thin clothes and wreathed about them. A door was opened and they were soon inside a really warm home. Frisk was laid down on a soft, green couch. A nightstand was set down on the ground beside the couch so that Flowey could stay beside Frisk. A TV was across the room. To the left was a staircase. To the right was the kitchen. “STAY HERE, HUMAN.” Papyrus trotted up the stairs. He soon came back with a black and red decorated blanket for them.

          Frisk smiled and closed their eyes. “Thank you, Papyrus.”

          Papyrus hesitated and nodded. “ER- YES. WELL, YOU NEED TO SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO GET TO THE CASTLE. SO, NO NEED TO THANK ME.”

          Sans came in through the door, a covered bowl in his hands as well as a spoon. He set the food and utensil down on the stand beside Frisk and took a few steps back. “there you go, boss. i just got it from the shop.”

           “THE SHOP? WELL… THAT’S ACCEPTABLE, I SUPPOSE. THE HUMAN WILL STAY HERE FOR A SHORT TIME LONGER. GO BACK TO YOUR STATION TO MAKE SURE THAT NO OTHER HUMANS FOLLOW,” Papyrus ordered with a wave of his hand.

           “yes, boss.” Sans hurried out the door in an instant.

          Flowey bit the sheet on the soup and pulled it back. It was a bowl of broth with a hint of cinnamon. Frisk sat up almost immediately to eat the food before them. “Be careful,” Flowey warned. “You have to eat really slowly, okay? And cool it off before you eat it, or you’ll burn yourself.”

          Frisk nodded. “Okay. Thank you.” They attempted to take the spoon from beside the soup but failed miserably as they were nowhere near it. One of Flowey’s vines wrapped around their wrist and guided their hand to the utensil.

           “…YES. WELL, I’LL BE COMING BACK SOON ENOUGH. STAY HERE.” Papyrus left his house as well.

          Flowey looked up and smiled back at Frisk. “You’ll be fine, Frisk. Just concentrate on getting better, alright?”

          Frisk nodded and took a spoonful of the soup. It… was surprisingly very good. Flowey helped blow on the spoonful of soup each time he thought they were too eager to notice it was still too hot. Occasionally, Flowey would crane his ‘neck’ and look out the window behind the couch. A few people walked briskly about outside. None of them paid any heed to the house. In fact, none of them even got close to it.

           “What’s outside, Flowey?”

           “Nothing, really. There are a bunch of people walking around outside. But that’s just about it,” Flowey informed them. “There’s a bit more snow outside than when we were captured.” Flowey relaxed and looked back down at them. “Are you feeling any better?”

          Frisk nodded. “Yes. Thank you.” The soup was almost halfway gone.

           “So… have you been sick a lot before?”

           “Sometimes.” Frisk shrugged. “Not too often. My little sister got sick pretty often, though.”

           “How long until you get better?” Flowey inquired.

          Frisk shrugged. “Like this? Um… _maybe_ a week. But it’ll just be a few days until I feel good enough to walk around again.”

          The flower sighed. “Oh. That might be a problem.”

          The young human shrugged again. “Maybe. How long did it take for your dad to get better?”

          Flowey sighed. “A month. Then it took about two weeks for him to be his normal self again. But he didn’t have a cold or flu. He ate some really poisonous flowers by accident.”

          Frisk ate another spoonful of soup. “I’m worried about Sans.”

           “Sans?” Flowey echoed. “Why?”

           “Well… Papyrus got super mad at him. And Sans was really, really scared,” Frisk pointed out. “What if… what if Papyrus does something to him?”

           “I don’t see why you care so much,” Flowey sighed. “He’s done nothing but bad, Frisk! He even refused to help you out! You died so many times because of him. In fact, I’m pretty sure that if he wasn’t in the picture, you’d be perfectly fine- as fine as you can be, anyway.”

          Frisk sighed. “I know, Flowey. You do have a point. He’s been very mean. But everyone deserves kindness. He’s not mean just because he can be, Flowey. Something made him that way and continues to make him that way.”

           “You mean: Papyrus?” Flowey inquired.

          Frisk shook their head and then hesitated. “Maybe. But everyone here lives in a cramped cavern. I know I’d be grumpy if I had to live a small space with lots of other people all my life. Besides, didn’t you see how he reacted to you? It’s like people call him fluffy and weak all the time and he probably can’t even defy them. The dogs even made fun of him. His brother is very mean to him. It’s like he doesn’t even love Sans. I think… I hate to think this. I seriously, seriously hate to think this. But that collar he’s wearing… it might not even be on his own accord.”

           “Maybe.” The flower looked back outside and then at Frisk. The bowl of soup was now empty. Frisk could feel their health, their soul, growing warmer under the gentle healing of the soup. “Well… go to sleep. You need the rest, okay?”

          Frisk nodded. “Okay, okay. Just… tell me if anything comes up, okay?”

          Flowey nodded. “Alright, I will. I’ll keep a look out.”

           “Thanks, Flowey.” The young human shifted so that they were more comfortable. They very easily fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bundle up because things are chilly, hmm? Nice warm soup on a fluffy couch and a blanket! What more could you need?


	9. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Story time! Poor Frisk is still sick. But it seems they're in good hands, hmm?

          “FLOWER! HOW ARE THEY FEELING?” Papyrus ordered. A breath of chilly air tailed the skeleton’s entrance.

           “They’re asleep,” Flowey answered. “They’re feeling _much_ better. They haven’t coughed or sneezed in a long time. They fell asleep a few minutes after you left- just about straight after finishing their soup.”

          Frisk opened their eyes. “Hmm…? Flowey?”

          Flowey turned back to them. “You’re awake! Are you better?”

          Frisk nodded and sat up. “Yeah. I still have a headache… and tired… but I’m good.”

           “YOU JUST SLEPT! WHY ARE YOU TIRED? DOES THAT HAPPEN TO ALL HUMANS?” Papyrus prompted.

          Flowey nodded. “Yeah. But only if they’re not feeling well.”

           “funny how that seems to happen to them and _only_ them.” Sans’ scathing voice appeared beside Papyrus. “the road’s clear, boss. we’re ready to leave when you are.”

          Flowey rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Funny how they’re also the only blind human down here, too. And the only human their age. _And_ the only sick human.”

          Papyrus sighed heavily at Sans’ and Flowey’s sarcasm. “UGH. WELL, WE’LL BE BACK LATER. WE’RE GOING TO TALK WITH UNDYNE. IF YOU’RE AWAKE, WE’LL GET YOU SOMETHING TO EAT,” Papyrus swept out the door, cape fluttering in the snow-laden breeze as he went. Sans, with one last glare at Flowey, followed him.

          Frisk watched the door for a few moments before laying down and looking at Flowey. “You really shouldn’t have made Sans mad at you. He… doesn’t seem like the forgiving sort.”

          Flowey watched Frisk with a morose gaze. “You are too kind, Frisk.” He leaned down, picked up the lip of the blanket in his teeth, and pulled it over Frisk. “This place does not deserve you.”

           “Of course, it does.” Frisk closed their eyes. “This place is magical. I’ve always wanted to be in a magical place. When I was younger, my sisters and I would build forts from the pillows and cushions and make castles. We pretended to have magic and be fairies, I think? No, my little sister, Emma, was a fairy. Cammy and I were both wizards. So, it’s really nice to be in a place of magic.”

           “Well then… I’m sorry that this is your introduction into magic, Frisk,” Flowey mumbled.

           “That’s okay,” Frisk purred. “I like this place, actually. It reminds me a lot of home.”

           “Home?” Flowey echoed.

          Frisk nodded. “Yep! I grew up most of my life in a big city. Everyone there was pretty… unforgiving. You know, lots of bad things happened. People were mean to each other. Sometimes, when on the road, people would get out of their cars to hit other cars. Sometimes, people with guns would run into a place and steal stuff. Then people also said very unkind things to one another. The kids at my school started off nice. As they got older, they got mean, too. There were even people who captured other people. Sometimes it was noble, like a policeman–that’s a type of human guard–catching a bad guy. Sometimes, bad guys would catch good guys. I was never captured, which is good.”

           “But you just got captured,” Flowey pointed out.

           “I know. But Papyrus and Sans are good people,” Frisk pointed out. “I’m not a bad person. However, I _am_ a human. So, that’s reason enough. Humans are a threat, I think. Anyway, the humans on the surface that capture people, the bad ones, do really bad things to people they catch. So, I’m glad it was Papyrus and Sans who caught me instead of someone from the surface.”

          Flowey wheezed, “What can be- what? They let you freeze to death so many times. They put you in a metal cage. You died from sickness and cold six times. Sans was trying to get back at you for something you didn’t do by making you feel even worse! That’s not to say how Papyrus ‘caught you.’ You were nearly killed by him. What could a human do that’s even _worse_ than that?”

           “Lots of things,” Frisk answered. “My parents wouldn’t tell me most of them. But I do know that lots of the bad people kill who they have. Or they send them off somewhere and take them away from their families. But since Papyrus and Sans didn’t do either of those, willingly of course, they’re good.”

           “They’re taking you to the capital to die.”

           “Well, yes. But that doesn’t make them bad. They’re not doing it to be evil. They’re doing it for the good of their people. So, that makes them okay. Plus, look at Sans! He’s never physically attacked you. And he does everything Papyrus tells him to. Papyrus probably does everything he has to do, too. Now, I know that he can be very mean. But honestly, I think he’s a good person on the inside but has suffered so much, that he makes this terrible shell. My sister did the same thing.”

          Flowey chuckled. “Frisk, you have the biggest heart that I’ve ever seen.”

          Frisk smiled and curled up into a ball. “You’re the nicest friend I’ve ever had, Flowey.”

 

          Frisk woke up as the door opened. Papyrus strode inside, Sans at his heel. Papyrus went straight to his room. Sans, glaring daggers at Flowey, set down another bowl of soup and stalked back to his room. Flowey bit the wrapping on the soup and pulled it back to reveal the same broth they had earlier.

           “Frisk?” Flowey prompted as he guided Frisk’s hand to the spoon. “You… I mean, I know you’re blind. But you used to be able to do this stuff. Why not now?”

          Frisk sighed and shook their head. “It’s just… I mean it’s worse. It used to be bad but ever since I woke up in that cage I just can’t see anymore. At all. It used to be that I could see colors. I mean, I knew Papyrus was some sort of black and red shape. Sans was black, red, and gold. You’re yellow and white. Mom was red and pink. But now I just can’t see _anything_.”

          Papyrus walked back down the stairs, then. “HUMAN?”

          Frisk jumped and turned their head toward the direction of the noise. “Huh? Oh! Hello, Papyrus!”

           “YOU ARE BLIND?”

           “Er- yes.”

           “…DID YOU BECOME BLIND AFTER OUR BATTLE?” Papyrus prompted.

          Frisk shook their head and then hesitated. “W-well… I was legally blind before. That means I could only see colors. Like, blobs of color. Nothing too close, though. But, yeah. Ever since I woke up that sick, I haven’t been able to see even that. I’m sure it was just me getting sick or something. Nothing to do with you. It’ll come back soon.”

           “SO, THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE?” he took on a tone of surprise.

           “…yeah. I’ve just never been so sick before. Normally, I just get headaches and I can’t really understand what I’m seeing. But it always gets better,” Frisk reassured him.

          The taller skeleton hesitated and gave them a brisk nod. “…GOOD. WELL, IF YOU DID NOT KNOW, IT IS NEARLY NIGHT. THEREFOR SANS AND I WILL BE HERE.”

          Frisk sat up straighter. “Oh cool! Who are the night guard?”

           “ER, SOME PEOPLE FROM WATERFALL AND A FEW PEOPLE HERE,” Papyrus answered. “YES. THEY’RE QUITE WELL TRAINED, TOO.”

          Frisk looked behind themselves to the window. It was still the same level of light now as it was in the middle of the day. They turned back to Papyrus. “Does it ever get darker here? Like, it’s light in the day and dark at night?”

           “LIKE THE SURFACE? NO.” Papyrus shook his head. “WELL, WE’LL TEST YOU IN THE MORNING AND LEAVE PROMPTLY AFTER. SO, BE READY.”

           “Yes, sir. Thank you, again!” Frisk purred. “You’ve been very nice to us while we stayed here.” Flowey scoffed. Frisk pouted at him. “Flowey! He just let us stay inside _and_ gave us something to eat. I’d call that nice.”

           “WELL… LIKE YOUR FLOWER SAID, SICK HUMANS DON’T TRAVEL THAT WELL.” Papyrus strolled into the kitchen, fixed something, walked back out, and then went to his room.

          Sans, one elbow on the railing of the second story, huffed, “wow. he’s antsy. what’d you two do?”

          Frisk shrugged. “I don’t know. Hey, Sans? Can I ask a question?”

           “ask all you want,” Sans replied with a wave of his hand. “i won’t guarantee an answer.”

           “Okay. What does the barrier look like?” Frisk inquired.

           “the barrier?” Sans echoed.

          Frisk nodded. “The thing keeping everyone locked up in here. There is a barrier, right?”

           “yeah. course there is. the damn thing’s been here since forever. but it isn’t that amazing. it’s a black and white wall, kinda. why do you want to know?”

           “I was curious,” Frisk replied with a shrug. “I’ve never seen any type of barrier or whatever from outside.”

           “i hardly think you saw anything, anyway,” Sans pointed out.

          Frisk giggled. “You have a point there!”

          The skeleton narrowed his eyes at the failed insult. “well, the king might let you see it. after all, he’s going to use your soul to break it.”

          Frisk perked up. “If you break the barrier, everyone can go outside?”

           “well, duh.”

           “What does it take to break the barrier?”

           “seven human souls,” Sans answered. “which is why my boss is going to get the best promotion after this. you’re the very last human we need, kid.”

           “Oh. That makes sense. I’ve never been _first_ in anything.” Frisk chuckled. Sans didn’t laugh. “Anyway, thank you! I was curious as to why I was here is all and why everyone’s stuck here. But it must be nice.”

           “what?”

           “I mean, leaving,” Frisk answered. “It must be nice knowing that you’ll be able to leave very soon. I can understand if you’re impatient. I am, too.” They chuckled.

           “you realize you’re going to die, right?” Sans inquired, “or do you not know what that means?”

           “I know perfectly well what it means,” Frisk answered. “But I’m going to enjoy being outside, too. I know I’ll probably die to do it, but at least I won’t be… well… anywhere!”

          Flowey looked at them in concern. “Um… what do you mean, Frisk? Y-you don’t _want_ to die, right?”

          Frisk looked at him in shock and hesitated. “Flowey, if I wanted to die, I’d have killed myself by now. It doesn’t matter if I _want_ to die. I’m going to either way. I just need to make peace with it. If they bring me to castle, I’ll die. If I go to the castle myself, I’ll die. Both options are bad for me but good for them- especially for Papyrus and Sans because after capturing and delivering me, they’ll be honored!”

          Flowey’s gaze turned sad. “You’re too kind, Frisk. Go to sleep; you need your rest.”

           “…yeah. you do,” Sans agreed, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

          Frisk lay down and pulled their blanket over themselves so that their nose touch the wooly black-and-red blanket.

          Before they could go to sleep, there was a hard knock on the door. Sans started to walk downstairs but Papyrus cut him off. When Papyrus opened the door, they found five dogs. Dogamy and Dogarressa bowed their heads and knelt on the porch before him. Doggo, head tipped, knelt between Greater Dog and Lesser Dog. “DOGS? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

          Dogarressa piped up, “We heard that someone of your household is sick. So, we brought a gift.” She rocked back on her heels and looked up at him. She offered a covered bowl. “This is medicine. My husband and I make it for people who have gotten sick from the cold.”

           “WHO TOLD YOU THERE WAS SOMEONE SICK HERE?” Papyrus prompted, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

           “We smelled it,” Dogarressa answered in a plain voice. “We have very good senses of smell. We couldn’t help but smell the sickness. I apologize if we are intruding. We both understand the time of day it is.”

          Papyrus hesitated before taking the bowl from them. “…WHY ARE YOU GIVING US THIS?”

          This time, both dogs looked up. Dogamy answered, “It is tradition to heal a sick puppy. When someone gets sick, everyone else gives gifts to them.” She turned her head back to look at the other dogs. Doggo stood up. In his hand was a bag of dog treats. Greater Dog held a relatively new looking stuffed bunny. Lesser Dog wielded a thermos. Papyrus, too confused to be suspicious any longer, took the gifts offered to him.

          Dogarressa spoke up again. “We wish your ill one a speedy recovery. The medicine should help them greatly. If you require more, we will be more than happy to make more. The stuffed toy should give them a bit more comfort and the treats should make them happier. The drink is hot; it’ll keep them warm. It’s cinnamon bark tea.” Her gaze flicked to the side to see Frisk. Her ears perked up before returning to Papyrus.

           “YES. WELL, THIS SEEMS TO BE APPROPRIATE. YOU SHOULD GO TO SLEEP. TOMORROW WILL BE BUSY.”

           “Yes, sir,” the Dogi answered in unison. “We wish your household to be cleansed of illness soon.” They got up and turned around. Lesser Dog, tail wagging, held Dogarressa’s paw. Greater Dog bounded beside him. Dogamy waved his hand to give Doggo a constant moving object to see. The door shut.

          Papyrus set down the medicine, thermos, treats, and toy on the table beside Frisk. Papyrus turned to Flowey. “ARE THESE GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE HUMAN?”

          Flowey bit the lid of the bowl and popped it off. Multiple pieces of round food pellets were in it. “Oh wow. This is a really, really, _really_ old recipe. I wouldn’t doubt it, actually. This medicine is really good for people with colds. I remember it being used. They got well very soon. But it, uh, doesn’t work on people who got poisoned. Anyway, this should do the trick.” Flowey pulled out a paper from the bottom of the bowl. “Yep. Instructions on how to use it.”

          Papyrus inspected the paper. “WELL… GOOD. HUMAN! EAT ONE OF THESE NOW. YOU CAN HAVE THE TEA WITH IT IF YOU W- NEED TO. OF THESE TREATS?”

           “They’re… uh… treats,” Flowey replied. He opened the bag completely. “Yep. In the shape of bones. I’m sure they’re fine. Here you go, Frisk.”

           “Thanks!” Frisk tapped the table with one of their fingers until their found the bowl on medicine. They plucked out one of the hard, dry balls of medicine. It was just about the size of a golf ball, had a rough, nearly flaky texture, and was quite dry. Although it felt hard and well put together, it took no effort to bite a chunk off. Frisk’s nose scrunched up at the taste. “It tastes like dog food! Not the good kind, either.”

          Flowey chuckled. “Yep. It does. It’s a dog’s recipe.”

           “Well, I’ve never had medicine made by dogs before. So hopefully it’ll help.” Frisk finished off the chunk of medicine before reaching for the thermos. It, too, was quite hot. It had a very strong cinnamon flavor, though the odd hint of bark from other types of trees was in it as well.

           “WELL, WE WILL SEE YOU IN MORNING. HOPEFULLY THAT MEDICINE HAD HELPED YOU.” With that, the skeleton turned and walked back up the stairs.

          Frisk drank a bit more before capping the thermos and laying back down. “Good night, Flowey.”

           “Good night, Frisk.”

 

          Frisk woke up a blur. They couldn’t recognize anything. They still couldn’t see a thing; their vision had gone completely dark. They whimpered and rubbed their eyes. They found dampness on their cheeks. Had they been crying?

           “Frisk?” Flowey’s voice appeared beside them. “Hey, can you hear me?”

          Frisk nodded. “Y-yeah. Yes. Why?”

           “You don’t look too well,” Flowey stated. “Did you have a bad dream?”

           “I…” Frisk bit their tongue and nodded. “Yeah. But it was… it wasn’t anything important. You know me; I just get scared over the little things. Haha. It wasn’t too bad. I’m fine. Really; I’m fine.”

           “If you say so…” Flowey muttered.

           “…IS THIS A SIDE EFFECT OF BEING SICK? DO HUMANS THINK LIKE THAT?”

           “Not really,” Flowey answered. “I mean, maybe? Er, you did this before, right? In the inn?”

          Frisk nodded. “Yeah. Funny how dreams work. I forgot I was here. Hehe. What’s up?”

           “I CAME TO CHECK ON YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE HEALING,” Papyrus answered in a brisk tone. “TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE ALRIGHT. ARE YOU SURE? DILLUSIONAL WHIMPERING ISN’T ‘HEALTHY’ TO ANYONE.”

          Frisk shrugged. “I just got a bit antsy. Dreams do that sometimes- especially when you don’t expect it! But thanks for the concern. I’m doing much better.”

          Papyrus gave them a brisk nod. “IF YOU SAY SO. IT IS MORNING. TAKE ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE PELLETS. SANS IS GETTING YOUR SOUP. THEN WE WILL BE OUT PATROLLING. STAY HERE, HUMAN.”

           “Yes, sir!” Frisk yipped. “Good luck! I hope everything turns out well!”

          Papyrus hesitated part way through the door. However, he did not answer. He left. Sans popped by and dropped off their meal before leaving again.

          Flowey took off the covering on the cinnamon-tasting broth. “Are you sure you’re fine? You looked really distressed there…”

           “I’m fine, Flowey. I’m not hurt.”

           “Are you afraid of your dad?” Flowey inquired.

          The young human gasped and then took a deep breath. “What gave you that idea?”

           “You were panicking,” the flower explained and took out a bit of medicine out for them. “You were saying something about your father.”

          Tears glimmered in Frisk’s eyes. “I-I’m okay. Really. I’ll be fine.” They sniffled and took bite out of the medicine. “I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s okay.” _Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s okay._ The two simple statements swirled about in their head. They repeated themselves over and over and _over_ again. _“Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s okay.”_ Like muck in a stream, the words collected at the edge of their mind. _“Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s okay.” “He loves us. You just don’t see it.” “See? He wore black so that you can see him.” “You’re okay, Sweet-heart. It’s just a little bruise.” “Everything’s fine.” “Just believe me, okay?” “We love you, Sweet-heart.” “Don’t do that again, okay? He gets really mad when you do.” “Don’t touch his things, baby girl. Alright?” “Let’s go get some ice cream.”_

           “Frisk?” Flowey’s voice brought them back to the present. Frisk looked up at him. “You can tell me anything, Frisk. Really! You can trust me. I won’t hurt you. I’m your best friend, remember?”

          Frisk nodded. They finished off the medicine and ate their soup. “I know. But you don’t have to worry. I’m fine.”

           “You’re crying.”

           “I’m not.” They wiped away the tears from their eyes. They were very soon replaced. “I’m just… I’m okay. You don’t have to keep asking.”

          Flowey pouted. “Frisk…”

           “I said I’m fine.” Frisk’s voice took a harder tone. They took a deep breath and smiled. “I feel a bit sleepy.” They downed the rest of their soup and set it on the counter. “Good ni- er, talk to you later, Flowey.” Frisk lay back down and pulled the covers up to their cheek again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... night terrors. Those are always fun.


	10. Story Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can we truly say goodbye...?

          _“Don’t you see? He’s horrible!” “I love you, Frisk. I love you so much. But please. He’s not good!” “I know what mom said. But he’s a liar.”_ _“Frisk, we’re leaving. We’re leaving and never coming back.” “I know you hate it here, Frisk. I know it.” “You can’t SAVE everyone, Frisk! He’s irredeemable. Come on.” “Oh God. Oh my God. Run, Frisk! I need you to leave!” “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH FRISK AGAIN YOU MONSTER! RUN! RUN, FRISK! I’LL CATCH UP WITH YOU!”_

 

           “Frisk!” Frisk cried out in surprise upon feeling a vine curl around their hand and rip them from their dreams. They looked up. Flowey stared down at them. “Frisk, it was a bad dream. You’re okay.”

           “I’m… I’m okay…” Frisk sighed and flopped back down. They found the fluffy bunny Greater Dog had given them and squeezed it close to their chest. “I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay.” _I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay._

           “You had a really bad scare,” Flowey commented. “Um… I don’t think you should go back to sleep. Stay up for a little while. Who was that in your dream?”

           “Who was what?” Frisk inquired.

           “You were talking in your sleep. Something about not wanting to do something or trying to save someone. What was wrong?” Flowey prompted.

           “Just a bad dream.” Frisk mumbled. “I’m alright.”

           “…who was in it? Was someone trying to attack you?”

          Frisk gave him a curt nod. “Yeah. But it’s nothing bad. Really.”

           “No, Frisk. I’m not taking that as an answer,” Flowey stated. “I refuse. Frisk, you’re having really bad dreams. Sometimes, talking about it helps.”

           “Flowey, please,” Frisk’s voice raised to a squeak. “Please let it go. I just… I can’t.” They flopped back down and buried their face into the couch.

          The flower stared down at his boot. After a few moments, he sighed. “I’m sorry, Frisk. I… I hate seeing you sad. Um…”

          Sans appeared behind Flowey at that moment. “you are a dumb little flower, aren’t you?” Sans huffed. Flowey hissed in surprise and spun around to face him. But the skeleton was now ignoring him. Sans patted the arm of the couch. “kid. you look a bit upset. what do you think about a bedtime story?”

          Frisk looked up at him with round, watery eyes. “Huh…? Uh- yeah. Yes, please.”

          Sans looked about and vanished into thin air. When he came back, he set down a chair next to the couch and sat down. In his hands was a book. Though old, it was long and polished. Gentle, almost constant use had caused it to rub thin in places and yellow the papers. Sans flipped through until it was near the end. “okay. welp, this is the story of goldilocks and the three bears. one day, this kid, a little human girl, ran away from the other humans. but she got lost. eventually, she found a cabin. when she knocked on the door, no one was home. but when she looked through the window, she saw three bowls of porridge. the girl realized she was very hungry and the door was not locked. so, she went inside anyway. she tried to sit the big chair with the big bowl of porridge. but the spoon was very big and heavy and the porridge was very hot. when she tried to move to the medium sized chair with the medium sized bowl of porridge, she found that the porridge was too cold and the seat was still too big. but the smallest bowl of porridge was just right and the smaller chair fit her perfectly. So, she ate the porridge as fast as she could.”

          Sans spared a glance at Frisk. They watched him with complete attention and fascination. Flowey had lost some of his caution, though he still wasn’t relaxed. Papyrus was now out of his room. The door was ajar as if he’d just left to investigate the whimpering. However, upon seeing that Sans had taken out a storybook, he set is arms on the rail and listened to Sans. A foreign look of _happiness_ and excitement made him look as though he was a completely different person.

          Sans tried not to look at Papyrus. Instead, he continued with the story. “by the time she’d completely eaten the porridge, goldilocks was very tired. so, she went upstairs and found the bedroom. there was a very big bed. it was difficult to climb into it. but when she did, she found that it was too hard. the medium bed was much too soft. but the smallest bed was very comfortable. tired and warm, goldilocks fell asleep. it was not too long before the owners of the house came home. the first to come in was a big, burly papa bear with long, shaggy fur. upon seeing that a bite had been taken out of his porridge, he exclaimed in a heavy, grumbling voice, ‘someone has been eating my porridge!’” Sans changed his voice to fit the heavy voice of Papa Bear. It was like his own, if a bit louder. “the second to come into the house was a medium sized mama bear with short, silky fur. ‘oh. someone has been eating my porridge,’” Sans’s voice lightened to a pitch like Toriel’s. “-she said in a calm, quiet voice when she saw her own bowl of porridge. the third was a tiny, baby bear. his long, fuzzy fur made him look bigger than he was. ‘oh no!’ baby bear cried, ‘someone has eaten all of my porridge!’” Baby bear’s voice was squeaky, almost like Flowey’s.

          Sans glanced up at the small human. Although they were attempting to pay attention, they looked quite sleepy now. Papyrus, still leaning on the rail, did as well. Sans continued, “the three bears decided that the person who ate their breakfast could still be there. so, they went upstairs to check in the first room they found- the bedroom. ‘someone has been sleeping in my bed!’ papa bear announced when he saw his ruffled bed. ‘oh dear. someone has been sleeping in _my_ bed,’ mama bear agreed. when baby bear found his bed, he exclaimed, ‘oh no! someone is sleeping in _my_ bed!’ baby’s bear’s voice so close to goldilocks that it woke her up. the girl jumped out of bed and exclaimed, ‘oh no! i’m so sorry. is this your house?’” Goldilocks’ voice sounded similar to Frisk’s. “‘what are you doing here?’ papa bear growled. this only frightened the girl further and made her cry. mama bear scolded her husband, ‘she is just a girl! my dear, what are you doing here?’ goldilocks answered, ‘i was really hungry and tired. i ran away from the humans.’”

          Frisk was almost completely asleep now. Flowey had calmed down from his mistrust. Papyrus was starting to dose off as well. Sans continued, “then baby bear asked, ‘why did you go away from your parents?’ ‘i have no parents,’ goldilocks said. papa bear was no longer angry, now. baby bear asked, ‘you came here all alone?’ when goldilocks nodded, mama bear asked in a sweet voice, ‘well, would you like to stay with us?’ goldilocks accepted, of course. she ran away from the humans and ended up with big scary beasts. but she soon found out that these bears weren’t big and scary. they were very friendly and welcoming. So, goldilocks got to live with her new family and she didn’t have to worry about being hungry again.” Sans gently closed the book. Frisk was completely asleep, now. Papyrus looked to be in the same state.

          Sans stood up and walked over to the flower. He leaned forward and, in as quiet a voice as he muster, “that’s how you quiet a scared kid.”

           “How did you do that?” Flowey prompted. “Er- how did you know?”

           “i’m an older brother, of course. by a few years.” Sans grabbed his chair and teleported back into his room. When Sans closed the door, Papyrus woke up. It wasn’t that loud a sound, but the warrior was trained to wake up at small sounds. Slightly embarrassed, Papyrus walked into his own room and shut the door. Flowey watched Sans’ door for quite a while before turning back to Frisk. They now slept much more easily than any of the other nights they spent there.

 

          Frisk’s blurry eyes saw nothing. They tried to breath but found it was hard to do so. Their head was still buried in the couch.

           “ARE THEY READY TO LEAVE YET?”

           “I don’t know,” Flowey answered. “That soup and medicine… They _could_ be better by now. But they need to wake up, first. Maybe make them walk a little bit.”

           “HMM… ALRIGHT. I UNDERSTAND. HUMAN! ARE YOU AWAKE?” Papyrus called.

           “Hey!” Flowey yelped. “Don’t wake them up if they’re asleep.”

           “I WAS _ASKING_ IF THEY’RE AWAKE, WEED.”

           “Yeah I am.” Frisk turned around and sat up. They blinked and few times and smiled. “But I am feeling better! Should I try walking around, Flowey?” Faintly, they could see various pale and dark colors. Papyrus was right beside them. Flowey was on their nightstand. Sans was somewhere in the distance.

           “If you feel up to it. I don’t want you to strain yourself,” Flowey stated.

          Frisk took the blanket off themselves and stood up. They tapped the ground with their foot. With a short giggle, they hopped from foot to foot and spun around in a circle. “Yay! I’ve never gotten over a sickness this fast before!” They laughed and jumped about in a few circles. Sans snickered from somewhere in the room. Flowey beamed. Papyrus, though his eyes were narrowed, watched them with slight amusement. Frisk grabbed Flowey and bounded about.

          Flowey yelled in surprise and glee as they got to twirl in circles.

          Eventually, Frisk got dizzy and uncoordinated. They stopped and shook themselves. They looked at Sans. With a devilish smile, they bounded over to the skeleton and yanked him forward. He cried out in surprise. Before he could fall, Flowey’s vine straightened him back out. “Come on!” Frisk crowed. “Come on! Dance with us!”

           “dance? with you?” Sans asked in a breathless wheeze. Although he puffed himself up to look threatening, his abrasiveness was completely and utterly lost on Frisk.

           “Yep!” Frisk put Flowey in their coat, took Sans’ hand and bounced back. “Come on! It’s literally the easiest thing in the world to do! Let’s go!”

           “no!” Sans snorted in bad temper. “let go of me, kid.”

          Frisk put their hands on their hips. “Oh yeah? I’m literally blind and I’m good at dancing. I’m super sure that you could if you just tried.” Sans recoiled from their touch. Although he bared his teeth further, he didn’t snap at them. Frisk smirked. “Come on! Play with us! It won’t kill you, I swear.”

          _“Sans doesn’t want to dance,”_ Chara’s voice piped up. _“But you force him to, anyway.”_

          Frisk took Sans by both of his hands and bounced back. Before the skeleton could complain, Frisk lead Sans around in a childish dance that resembled a summoning ritual. “Okay. You just had to go in a circle like this. Come on. Play!”

           “i-i refuse!” Sans huffed and let go.

           “I can’t see the face you’re making,” Frisk stated, “but I do see what you’re trying to do. Come on. It’s a brilliant time to dance! I swear to God that if you do this one dance, I will stop bothering you. I won’t force you to do anything more. For as long as we live underground, I will not make you do anything you don’t want.”

           “Yeah!” Flowey agreed. “I won’t tease you again!”

          Sans grumbled but held out their hands. “fine. once.” Frisk squealed in delight and took him by the hands. Flowey whipped out his vines every once in a while to keep Frisk from running into something. Papyrus clenched his teeth together to keep from snickering at Sans and his poor dancing skills.

          Eventually, Frisk let go. Flowey righted them as they nearly stumbled into the wall. They shook their head and laughed. “Hey! You’re good! Especially for someone who doesn’t normally dance. With some practice, you’ll be amazing!”

           “but you won’t bother me about it.” Sans righted his jacket as gravity and the motion of air had made it crooked.

           “True, true,” Frisk agreed and then turned around. They took Papyrus by the hand and took a step back. “Come on! You’re turn!” They might be able to move Sans, as he was light and smaller, but there was no way they would force Papyrus to move.

           “WHAT? NO! SANS MIGHT BE TOO SOFT ON YOU, BUT I WON’T!” Papyrus took their hand out of Frisk’s grasp.

          Frisk pouted, though their heavy breaths didn’t much help. “Come on! Just one dance. It’s awesome! Dancing and singing are two of the best forms of expression!”

          _“Papyrus wants to dance, but doesn’t show it,”_ Chara informed them.

          Frisk took a deep breath and smirked. “What? You’re going to let your bro show off awesome dance moves but you won’t even try?”

          Papyrus huffed at them. “WAS THAT A CHALLENGE?”

           “Yep!” Frisk purred and puffed out their chest. Their breathing had evened out. “I will give you the same promise I gave to Sans.”

           “Me, too!” Flowey agreed, also breathless from keeping Frisk from running into anything.

          Papyrus glanced at Frisk and then his brother. Sans shrugged. Papyrus growled, “FINE.”

           “Yay!” Frisk took him by the hand and bounded back a few steps. Since Papyrus was much taller than Frisk, it was much more difficult trying to teach him. However, it was still doable.

          Eventually, Frisk let go and hit the wall. Instead of getting up, they shifted their feet and crossed their arms so they leaned against the wall. Breathing heavily, Frisk smiled and wheezed, “You guys are awesome! Isn’t dancing awesome?”

           “what are you, some sort of dance professional?” Sans huffed and rolled his eyes.

           “I want to be!” Frisk purred. “I would love to be a dancer! Like I said, dancing is one of the greatest forms of self-expression and one of the best ways to relax and be happy. Singing is another one. Singing is a great way to express yourself in a way that isn’t normally dangerous! But it’s hard to do when you’re out of breath. Haha.”

          Flowey smirked. “You are one of a kind.”

           “yeah. one of a kind, kiddo,” Sans agreed. He hesitated in surprise at his use of words. However, he shrugged it off.

          Frisk puffed out their chest. “Thanks! What time is it?”

           “IT IS THE LATE AFTERNOON. TOO LATE TO START MOVING,” Papyrus answered in a stiff tone.

          Frisk shrugged. “If you say so. So, just stay another night, eh? Then we set off in the morning?”

          Papyrus gave them a curt nod. “YES. GET A GOOD REST. WE’LL BE LEAVING EARLY IN THE MORNING.”

           “Okay. We’ll be good. Good night!” Frisk waved to Papyrus and trotted back to the couch. Papyrus, with a grand flourish of his cape, walked upstairs. Sans stared at Frisk in confusion and suspicion before walking up the stairs. Frisk put Flowey down on the nightstand and lay down again.

           “You’re a champ, Frisk,” Flowey purred and bowed his head. “If this is our last day together, then you know how to make a good day last. Good night, Frisk.”

           “Good night, Flowey.”

 

          Flowey hissed, “ _Frisk!_ Frisk! Wake up!”

          Frisk jumped and looked about. It could not be morning, could it? They’d only been sleeping for a few hours. They looked up. Flowey was staring at the stairs. Papyrus vanished into his room. “Wha…?”

           “Papyrus… left this for us. It’s a note,” Flowey breathed. “…and a bag with a tiny key inside.”

           “What does it say?” Frisk sat up.

          Flowey breathed, “‘Human. It has come to my attention that we are unable to bring you to the castle. So, you will have to do it yourself. I apologize for the inconvenience, but we simply don’t have the time. I hope you understand. I packed food with you so that you won’t starve on the way there. In case you get sick again, I’ve packed your medicine, the thermos with tea, and the treats. I’ve enclosed a small key. The collar you currently have prevents you from leaving once you get a certain distance from me so long as you wear it. If you don’t wear it but still have it, that’s fine. It can’t hurt you. You should leave as soon as possible. If you get lost, i have enclosed my phone number so you don’t have to worry about getting lost. Call me any time. Don’t talk to anyone because they might steal this note. Oh, and you should also destroy this note so that my signature can’t be forged and no one can take my phone number. -The Great Papyrus.’”

          Frisk’s eyes grew rounder by the word. “Oh my goodness!” they breathed.

          Flowey stared at the paper for a few moments before turning to Frisk. “He’s… he’s _sparing_ you, Frisk. How?”

          Frisk gave him a warm smile. “Everyone has good in them, Flowey. He is a very nice skeleton- just like his wonderful brother. Come on. We shouldn’t wake them.” Frisk folded the blanket and set it neatly on the couch. Flowey, key in his teeth, unlocked the collar around Frisk’s neck. They packed that, their bunny, and the bag in their own shoulder bag and zipped Flowey into their coat. With a soft breath of relief, they turned and quietly walked out of the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story time is nice time. Night terrors are bad. But a nice story and a fluffy bunny are a great cure for a young kid!
> 
> Goodbye skelebros! It was great to know you. Let's go find one of the best characters in this game!

**Author's Note:**

> I will be submitting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! So, look forward to that!


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